Legend of the Dream Keeper: The Lord of Nightmares
by Pax the Dreamer
Summary: Book 3 of the Legend of the Dream Keeper series. Now that Pax has shown his mastery with the Sword of Dreams by slaying the Shadow Queen, his skills as Dream Keeper are put to the ultimate test as he fights to save the Dream World from the Void... wow, I think that's the most serious summery I've ever written! Yay for me!
1. Chapter 1: Dreams

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'm really sorry for taking so long to write this, but life has a nasty habit of biting someone in the arse and… well, I won't babble on. You know what you came here for, so I won't hold it from you any longer. Enjoy!**

* * *

_**The Legend of the Dream Keeper**_

_**Part I: The Dream Keeper**_

_**Book 3: The Lord of Nightmares**_

_**Chapter 1: Dreams**_

* * *

"…and today, Goombella will be presenting her topic on the Discoveries behind the Thousand Year Door," Professor Frankly announced. I stepped forward and cleared my throat, looking out to the hundred or so students that were watching.

"About half a year ago," I began, "Professor Frankly uncovered the secrets behind the Legend of the Thousand Year Door. In the span of a month, I worked with him to learn everything we could about this mysterious Door. I'm certain you recall the sudden wave of darkness that fell across the world when the Shadow Queen woke up?"

Everyone gave an involuntary shudder at that memory. Even I had to take a moment to shudder myself.

"Fortunately," I continued, "Mario was there to slay her. After we parted ways, Professor Frankly and I entered back into the castle the Thousand Year Door contained and did a little digging around. What we discovered was… well, breathtaking doesn't even BEGIN to describe it."

I stepped on a button already laid out for me nearby, and the projector turned on, showing a map of the area inside the Castle.

"The Professor and I drew up this map, then out of curiosity, we compared it to a map of Rougeport," I continued, pushing the button again to show the maps side-by-side. "Originally, our theory was that the Castle was part of an ancient civilization that current-day Rougeport built on top of. However, as you can see here, there is no possible way for this kingdom to be able to fit under Rougeport. We STILL haven't explored the whole thing, but as it is, the entire place is roughly the size of the Mushroom Kingdom."

Everyone muttered between themselves, but quickly fell silent.

"This leads us to our current theory," I elaborated, now pacing back and forth in excitement. "The Thousand Year Door doesn't connect to any point in space at all… or rather, any point in space in our world. After extensive research, we've come to the conclusion that the Thousand Year Door is a gateway to another world entirely!"

The muttering between the students got even louder this time, but it quickly calmed down. Everyone now gave me their full attention, even those who were, just moments before, listening to music or taking a nap.

"We have quite a bit of evidence to back up this claim, too," I went on, nodding at the sudden attention I was now getting. "For starters, the books in the Libraries don't match anything we have in recorded history. At first, we assumed this was a 'lost history' if you will, or rather information that pre-dates current records. After some deeper reading, however, we had to dismiss this theory."

I looked around at the Goombas staring at me with wide eyes.

"…we found records of other worlds," I continued. "Thousands upon Thousands of them. But that's not all… who here knows about the ancient philosophers known as the Dreamers?"

Nobody spoke.

"You're not alone," I managed a weak laugh. "Before our study into the Thousand Year Door, I never even heard of them. Let me explain as well as I can… Dreamers, according to the information we found in the Libraries, were Philosophers that believed every dream-or thought, idea, that sort of thing-created an entire World. These Worlds are subsequently contained in an infinite sea of other Worlds known only as the Realm of Dreams."

I pushed the button again, and the slide was showing a still of that hologram of a human that appeared on the complex machine in the tower at the center of the World behind the Thousand Year Door.

"This Realm, according to the belief of the Dreamers, is inhabited by two major beings," I explained. "The first, as you can see here, are the denizens of Light, who protect all Worlds from anything that might hope to destroy them. They are also called Dreamers, but whether they're the same as the philosophers or if they just share a name is still in debate. The other beings…"

I pushed the button again, showing the next slide. Everyone jumped back, startled at the image on the slide. It was humanoid, but slouched over. It's flesh was pitch black, and it had no facial features save for two white spheres that served as its eyes. Both its hands and feet were clawed, each one looking sharp enough to rip through steel.

"…are called Nightmares," I continued. "These creatures born of Darkness are apparently the sole cause of all the trouble and bad dreams caused within the Realm of Dreams. The Dreamers make it their primary goal to find and eliminate every single Nightmare, to purge them from the Realm of Dreams forever. To help them with this goal, the Dreamers choose one special hero every Generation or so. This hero is known only in records as the Dream Keeper."

I had to take a moment to let the memories flood my mind again.

"…and this brings me to my next point," I forced myself to continue. "The proof that these Dreamers do, in fact, exist. The first… I've seen several Nightmares in my travels with Mario half a year ago. One of them even got together with a good friend of mine, while her sister took up a home in Twilight Town. But, I'm getting off track. My second bit of proof is that I have met the Dream Keeper, as well."

I could tell the students found this bit hard to believe. I pushed the button, once again, to switch over to the next slide. On it was a picture of Mario, his left hand black and clawed while he was holding a sword in his right hand.

"This is the Dream Keeper," I explained. "Over the course of two adventures, his Soul possessed the body of Mario. This boy is the one who both saved the Star Spirits and stopped the Shadow Queen from taking over the world."

I looked over the crowd of students. They looked like their minds just got blown.

"So in conclusion," I finished, "there are countless other worlds out there, besides our own. As this class as my witness, I will not rest until I explore some of these worlds. Just think of the kind of discoveries we could make! Why, the mere concept alone-"

The bell rang before I could finish. Everyone packed their books and left the classroom, leaving me alone with Professor Frankly. I sighed as I kicked the switch to turn off the projector.

"I think you did an excellent job, Goombella," Professor Frankly told me kindly as I packed my stuff back into my bag.

"Thanks, professor," I sighed.

"…hey, cheer up," the Professor encouraged. "You've proven the existence of other worlds! If that doesn't get you a grant to explore further, I don't know what will!"

"No offence Professor," I replied, turning to him, "but… well, just look at me! I'm fourteen, nobody in their right mind would think of sending me to other Worlds!"

"Are you listening to yourself?" scoffed the Professor. "Of every Goomba on campus, who can honestly say that they've fought side-by-side with not only Mario, but the Dream Keeper, and saved the world from almost certain destruction?"

I couldn't help but smirk at this.

"Dangit, you make it REALLY hard to stay in a bad mood, you know that?" I asked him. The Professor couldn't help but laugh at this.

"Listen," he told me. "Tomorrow, we're facing the committee together. If they say yes, I am taking you with me to see these other Worlds, whether they want you to or not."

"And if they say no?"

"Then I introduce them to Goompa."

I stared at the Professor in shock. "You… you know how to call him?!"

"Please, just don't ask how," the Professor said, closing his eyes and flinching at the bad memory. Still, he couldn't keep a smile off his face. This proved to be contagious, as I found myself grinning too.

"Alright Professor," I said, turning around. "See you tomorrow."

"…Goombella, wait!" the Professor suddenly realized, running to catch up with me. "I just realized… I'm sorry to bring this up, but… what have you told your parents about this?"

"I… uh…" I slowed to a stop as I ran it through my head. "OH CRAP! I never told them!"

"You've had six months and you never told them about your boyfriend?" the Professor asked, trying his hardest to not smirk.

"Hey, it's not exactly an easy topic to bring up!" I argued. "What am I supposed to say? 'Oh hey Mom and Dad, I met this really sweet guy who wound up possessing Mario and he's a warrior who travels between Worlds to save everyone from the Nightmares, just thought you should know'?"

"Well if we do cross over to another World," the Professor explained, "you'll have to have SOME explanation as to why you can't keep in contact with them."

"…I'll think of something," I nodded, turning around once again. "Save me a seat at the meeting tomorrow!"

"Don't be late!" the Professor called out to me as I ran back to my room. As I ran through the crowded halls of Goomba University, memories of him came back to me. I couldn't help but wonder… how Pax was doing.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

_I am SO dead!_ I thought to myself in panic, staring at the blank test in front of me.

Sorry for jumping right in there folks, I haven't even introduced myself! My name's Pax, and I'm a fourteen year old Keeper of Dreams… that is, if my title is to be believed. Unfortunately, being a legendary hero really doesn't help out with Geography tests, which was currently acting as the bane of my existence as the minutes ticked by in class.

_I should have studied,_ I scolded myself, burying my face in my hands. _I'm an idiot. I TOTALLY should have studied!_

As I contemplated honorable suicide to escape this horrible creation from Hell, I let my mind drift off to better memories. I remembered traveling the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario twice in the span of a month… I remembered saving the seven Star Spirits… Coron getting absorbed into my hand… getting the Sword of Dreams… and Goombella.

_I wonder how she's doing?_ I thought to myself as I absentmindedly doodled a poor image of her on my test. _It's been six whole months already, and I haven't been called back even once. I made a promise to her and Leon, after all… I wonder how the rest of them are doing, anyway? Maybe-_

The bell interrupted my thoughts.

"Turn in your tests on my desk as you leave the classroom," my teacher said as everyone rose from their seats. I groaned as I begrudgingly stood up and walked to the desk, like a prisoner would walk to the electric chair.

"I'd like to apologize ahead of time for my poor grade, sir," I said to my teacher, handing over my paper.

"Well, we all have a weak subject, right?" my teacher asked. "…though I am curious, why did you draw a Goomba from Mario Brothers in a miner hat with hearts around it?"

"Um…" I blinked, trying to think up of an answer. When none came, I just decided to screw it.

"Can't talk gonna be late for next class see you later bye!" I rushed out in one breath, sprinting to the door as I said so. Before my teacher even knew how to respond, I was gone.

* * *

_**Enter Goombella:**_

* * *

The *Bing!* of my Laptop sounded as the screen flickered on. I slipped off my shoes and sat down in front of it, scrolling over to my emails. I had what was usual… school newspaper… spam… oh, and a letter from Leon! I quickly opened it and read through.

_Hey Goombella!_

_You'll never guess what happened today! See, we had one big super HUGE tournament between the champions of every fighting arena in what feels like the world, and you know what?! I… well, I got second place. BUT STILL! I still feel like the dude who beat me cheated, but he was cool, I guess. I DID make him promise to take me on in a rematch, though! Until then, I'm gonna train until I become the most powerful fighter in the world!_

_But, enough about me. How's your "Other Worlds" thing coming along? You ARE going to go, right?! If those jerks say you can't, just tell them to come talk to me, and I'll straighten them out!_

Smiling to myself, I used my feet to type a reply.

_Don't worry, Leon. I'm sure you'll get there very soon. Though, I do suggest taking on opponents outside of the Glitz Pit. Don't get me wrong, they're all powerful, but it seems to me that you've become much too strong to really get anything out of fights with them. Maybe the other champions will be willing to enter some "sparring matches" with you?_

_As for my research, we're approaching the committee tomorrow (we being Professor Frankly and me). He already promised to take me to another World, even if the committee doesn't allow it. When I go, I'll be sure to take plenty of pictures… and maybe the Champion will be the very first to see them?_

I hit send, hoping that would inspire the Yoshi further. I was about to close my laptop when a sudden, powerful light appeared in my room. Acting on reflex, I shut my eyes and dived under my table. When the light finally subsided, I peeked out to see a door standing in the middle of my room. It looked very similar to the Thousand Year Door, only… well, obviously smaller. On the door hung a sign:

_To Goombella,_

_A Door to the World Between Worlds_

_-Merlin_

"Merlin?" I asked aloud, eyeing the door in suspicion. On one hand, it could have been a trap… but on the other, the only enemies I could think of couldn't really deal with that level of light…

It took me a moment of thought, but I made up my mind. I turned around and typed up one last email, sending it to Professor Frankly:

_I found another door, I'll find a way to take you to the other side with me. Tell mom and dad I love them._

I hit send and quickly slipped my shoes back on before running around and gathering all the things I would need. Journal… check. Pencils… check. Camera… check. Knapsack… check. Miner's Hat? Well, I wouldn't be caught dead going anywhere without it!

Once I finally suited up, I turned back to the door. Taking a deep breath, I stepped forward and pushed it open. A blinding light was on the other side, but with my eyes squinting, I stepped on through.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

"That test is going to haunt me when the report cards come out…" I muttered to myself as I turned off the lights and curled up under the covers. "But at least for now, I can forget about it."

I closed my eyes and relaxed in my bed. A few minutes later, I felt somebody shaking my shoulder.

"Huh…?" I groggily lifted my head and turned to come face-to-face with a pitch black face and white eyes.

"AUGH!" I jumped and fell flat on my face on the floor.

**How graceful,** the Nightmare said sarcastically. I turned around to glare him down when my eyes fell on the heart-shaped mark on his chest.

"Oh… it's you, Coron," I sighed with relief.

**What did you expect?** Coron retorted, starting to sit on the bed, but quickly standing up. **Whoa, sorry. Almost sat on you.**

"Almost sat on… what are you talking about?" I asked, standing up and looking at my bed. "I'm right… in bed, apparently."

Coron was right, I saw myself sleeping in the bed.

"Okay… this is surreal," I blinked. "How can I be in two places at once?"

**Wow. You're REALLY dense, you know that? **Coron rolled his eyes. **You're ASLEEP. I'd think you'd be able to gather that much.**

"…oh, right," I said as I facepalmed. "Explains why I can see you…"

**And why you're suddenly wearing clothes, and why your hand is clawed, and-** went on Coron. He had no mouth, but I could tell by his face that he was smirking.

"Oh shut up," I retorted, standing myself up and looking around at my room. "…it's a little weird, though."

**How's that?**

"The last two times this happened, I just woke up in the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario. This is the first time I'm still in my room while I'm dreaming…"

Coron was about to reply, but he was cut off when a sudden bright light shined behind us. I turned to face it, but the light temporarily blinded me.

**Smooth move, cowboy,** Coron said as the light faded and I rubbed my eyes.

"Hey, I wasn't thinking, okay?" I defended, blinking until vision came back. Smack dab in the middle of my room, I saw a door that looked like the Thousand Year Door, only smaller.

"…" Both Coron and I stared at it for a minute before we turned to each other.

"Ready for another adventure, buddy?" I grinned.

**I've been asleep for half a year,** Coron replied, cracking his knuckles. **I'm ready for any kind of exercise. Let's do this.**

With a nod, I turned and pushed the door open. A bright light shined on the other side, but I still stepped on through, holding my arm up to my eyes to block out the light.

And with that, my adventure began.

* * *

**Author's Note: What do you think? Good set up? I'll catch you guys next time, and until then, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out! God it feels good to type that again…**


	2. Chapter 2: The Dreamers

**Author's Note: Now that we've gotten past the introductions, let's head over to our next favorite thing… exposition! *Dodges boot being thrown at me* Heheh… sorry, but I think you guys will find this interesting. Welp, here we go!**

* * *

_**Chapter 2: The Dreamers**_

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

I blinked as the light around me faded. I found myself on a platform high above a city, the sky bright and cream colored above me.

"Where are we?" I asked, looking around. "This doesn't look like the Mushroom Kingdom at all…"

"Oh… you must be the Dream Keeper," a female voice spoke. I turned to see Mario standing there, waving at me.

"Hey, long time no see!" I grinned, walking over to Mario. "Uh… what was that voice, though?"

Mario pointed to a rainbow colored butterfly floating next to him.

"I'm Tippi," she told me. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you too!" I smiled at her. "I'm Pax, and this is Coron!"

"…I can't see anybody here but you and Mario," Tippi said in confusion.

**Only Nightmares can see me, remember?** Coron reminded me. **Honestly, just how much have you forgotten over the past six months?**

"Not a lot!" I defended. "Just… you know, a few things. I mean…"

I held out my right hand and focused. Suddenly, in a flash of light, a sword appeared in my hand. The handle was golden, the hilt winged, but it had a beautiful blue sapphire in the middle. The blade itself didn't look like it was made of any metal at all, but rather… light itself.

"I still remember how to summon the Sword of Dreams," I said with a grin, swinging the sword around to get a feel for it again. "That's something, right?"

"…Pax?"

The voice made me freeze. I made the sword vanish and I turned around to face…

"GOOMBELLA!"

"PAX!"

We sprinted toward each other, and a moment later, the two of us were on the ground in each other's embrace.

"Oh dear God, I missed you so much…" I told her, my eyes shut.

"And I you," Goombella replied with a nod. We pulled back and looked each other in the face. Her eyes were even more beautiful than I remembered.

"Are you… crying?" Goombella asked.

"What… n-no!" I argued, rubbing my face with my sleeve. "I am not!"

Goombella laughed and nuzzled against my chest. "I don't mind…"

We sat there for a few minutes, just happy to be together again. The sound of somebody clearing his throat brought us back to reality as we looked up at a man. He was a human, somewhere in his mid twenties by the looks of it, and he was wearing a hooded blue cloak with stars on it.

"Sorry to interrupt this reunion, but…" he extended a hand to me. "I think it's time we were finally introduced. I'm Nozan, the one who's been giving you these tests."

"Tests?" Goombella hopped off me as I stood up. "What tests?"

"You know…" Nozan slowly pulled his hand back. "When you were placed in Mario's body?"

"…you mean YOU did all that?!" I realized, taking a step back and summoning the Sword of Dreams. Mario pulled out his hammer and stood by my side as well.

"N-now, there's actually a really good explanation for all of this…" Nozan said nervously, taking a step back and holding out his hands in defense. A whimper came from his mouth when he found the tip of my sword an inch away from his throat.

"Then explain," I said, glaring at him. "Why did you set Bowser off to kidnap the Star Spirits? Why did you release the Shadow Queen? And why did you make me possess Mario?"

Mario nodded in agreement at this last part, glaring daggers at Nozan.

"Okay, first of all, we only claim fault for that last part," Nozan clarified. "Secondly-"

"You think that's an excuse?!" snapped Goombella. "Do you have any idea how much pain you've caused because of all of this?!"

Nozan gulped, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Maybe it would be better if I explained things?"

Nozan turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're here!"

"Who?" I looked around Nozan to see where the voice came from. My eyes fell upon…

"GOOMPA!"

Goombella, Coron and I all gave the same exclamation as I shoved Nozan out of the way to face the senile old Goomba.

"Well… yes and no," Goompa explained, stepping toward us. He seemed much… calmer than usual. That kind of threw me. "It's time to stop the lies and hidden agendas. I'm so sorry to have put you through all of this in the first place…"

Goompa suddenly exploded into a bright light, and when it faded, an old man was standing in his place. He was also wearing a cloak like Nozan, only his looked much older. His face was wrinkled, and his eyes were kind.

"My name is Merlin," he said, giving me a respectful bow. "I'd like to personally welcome you to the Dreamers."

I blinked, not really sure how to respond to this. "Um…"

**Wait a minute…** Coron said. **You mean… all this time, you've just been acting like a senile old Goomba and putting us through hell?**

"Yeah, Coron brings up a good point!" I said. "Was all that stuff you did to us just an act?"

"Well, you have to admit, it was kind of funny," Merlin grinned. "I haven't had that much fun in two hundred years!"

…**alright, just come over here so I can WIPE THAT SMUG GRIN OFF YOUR OLD FACE!** Coron threatened, running forward and swinging his incorporeal fists through Merlin's body.

"Er… Coron's not really pleased," I translated, watching him try to harm Merlin to no avail.

"I can imagine!" Merlin stifled a chuckle. "But, yes… we had to put you through these tests… well, trials are more like it…"

"…elaborate," I encouraged, bringing the arm that held the Sword of Dreams down. I didn't make it vanish, but I wasn't in a threatening position anymore. Mario did likewise with his hammer.

"All this stuff that happened, we didn't cause any of it," explained Merlin. "Bowser capturing the Star Spirits? That was all him. The Shadow Queen's bonds weakening? It was already happening before you came along."

"You knew Mario could handle it…" Goombella continued. "But you needed to see what Pax was capable of."

"Correct," Merlin nodded. "That's why I disguised myself as Goompa and followed you throughout your adventure-"

"To keep an eye on him!" Goombella was on a roll, pacing back and forth now. "You kept an eye on him through his first adventure, and when you saw how capable he was, you introduced him to the more dangerous things of the other Worlds, like the Nightmares and the Sword of Dreams!"

Merlin looked a little surprised. He turned to Nozan, who was hanging in the background during the whole discussion. "…you told me she was smart, not that she was on the same level as Einstein."

"Oh stop, you're making me blush," Goombella smirked.

"So, let's go for current events for five hundred," continued Merlin. "Why did we bring you here today?"

Goombella looked up. "…I take it that it has to do with that swirling vortex of darkness?"

"What swirling vortex of-" I looked up to see a really freaky "hole" in the sky, just like Goombella said. "Wow, I REALLY need to work on my observation skills."

"I'd say so," agreed Merlin, slowly pacing across the platform. "That vortex is known only to us as the Void. We're not quite sure how it happened, but it seems somebody pulled a fragment of … into the Dream World, and this is the result."

"A fragment of what now?" I asked.

"…," Merlin repeated. "It's a little hard to explain… you see, … has no form, existence or even name."

"So wouldn't that make it …?" I asked. I froze and felt my throat in surprise. When I tried to say …, it felt like it caught in my throat and couldn't get out.

"… can't be given a name," Nozan piped in. "It's also near impossible to find out anything about it… but something we do know is that … is where all Nobodies come from."

"Nobodies?" Goombella asked.

"Wait, slow down," I held out my hands. "When you say Nobodies, you don't mean the empty shells of people who have lost their Hearts, do you?"

Nozan froze. "…well technically they're Souls, but many people tend to call them Hearts, yes."

"Uhuh…" I nodded. "And tell me, does the word 'Keyblade' mean anything to you?"

"How… how can you possibly know any of this?" Nozan seemed absolutely astonished.

"Well, back in my World, there's this video game series called Kingdom Hearts…" I started.

"They made a game after that?" Merlin started to laugh. "Wow! It must be one heck of a game if it expects to hold all that information in!"

"Time out. Are you saying…" My eyes widened. "Kingdom Hearts actually happened?!"

"Well… come with me," Merlin encouraged. "We'll discuss this further at my house."

* * *

"…so then Sora and Riku worked together to beat Xemnas in a pocket of nothingness!" I continued in excitement. "It was one of the most EPIC battles ever, too! Xemnas made a thousand beams of light attack them, but they were fast enough to beat them back, and then Xemnas held his blade at Sora's neck, but Riku jumped in and-"

"Breathe, man!" laughed Merlin.

We were all in Merlin's house now, gathered around in comfy bean-bag chairs. Tippi was resting on Mario's hat, the both of them listening to me explain the plot of the entire Kingdom Hearts series. Nozan was standing in the background, trying his hardest to look important, and Merlin was lounging back on his bean-bag, adding comments and questions as I told the story. Goombella did the same, but she was trying her hardest to write everything I was saying down in her journal, too. Coron, meanwhile, was leaning against the wall next to me, having given up trying to beat up Merlin quite awhile ago.

"And… well, long story short, they beat Xemnas, wind up in the Realm of Darkness, then they find Kairi's letter, and… well, a door to the light appears, and they wind up back on Destiny Islands, everyone re-united," I finished. "At the end of the game they get a letter from Mickey, but I don't know what it says."

"Fascinating…" Merlin nodded as I collapsed in a free bean-bag chair panting. "Water?"

"Please," I requested, my voice hoarse. Merlin pulled out a wand and, inspired by my description of the Disney Merlin, made a pitcher of water and a glass "march" over to me.

"Thanks," I nodded, taking the glass after the pitcher poured water into it.

"No problem," Merlin replied. "So… that sounds like an interesting story…"

"And it all happened, right?" Goombella asked, looking over to Merlin.

"Eh…" Merlin shook his hand in a "so-so" way. "Some, not all."

"Elaborate, please," I requested, keeping my eyes on the old man.

"Alright…" Merlin closed his eyes, searching his no-doubt ancient memories. "To start with, yes, there was a Dream Keeper who matches Sora's description. I remember every Dream Keeper we have ever had, but that boy sticks out in my mind since the Sword of Dreams came to him as a Keyblade."

"The Sword of Dreams can change forms?" I asked.

"When you first got that Sword, didn't it take on a different form?" Merlin reminded me.

"Well… yeah," I admitted. "The Crystal Sword. I just figured that the Crystal Sword was just drained or something, and the Sword of Dreams was the Crystal Sword unleashed to its full potential."

"You're kind of right," nodded Merlin. "The Sword of Dreams changes form to fit the wielder best. It thought you would do well with a Sword, so it showed up as the Crystal Sword. Only after the Dream Keeper has been proven to be worthy does it unleash itself as the true Sword of Dreams, but it can be altered at any time."

"So I could make the Sword of Dreams a Keyblade if I wanted to?" I nearly squee'd.

"It would take practice, but you could," laughed Merlin. "In fact, that is something I want to talk to you about, but remind me about that later. Now, back to what I was saying… it was impressive since the form of the Keyblade was banned for years, and most Dreamers had actually forgotten its existence."

"Why the heck would anybody want to ban the form of a weapon that not only slays evil, but unlocks every single lock ever made?" Goombella asked.

"…let me side-track here and tell you all a story," Merlin said after a moment's thought. "You probably already know about the Dream Keeper. It's their job to save the Dream Realm from anything that might come to harm it."

"Like the Nightmares?" I asked.

"The Nightmares… under the influence of the Lord of Nightmares are currently the Dream Realm's biggest threat, yes," Merlin said with a nod. "Well… second biggest, I suppose, but we'll get to that. A long time ago, the Dream Keeper was the 'King' of the Dreamers. Everyone looked up to him and followed his orders without haste.

"One day, the Dream Keeper… I think his name was Fredrick. He was trying to break into one of the Nightmares' many fortresses, but it was sealed by a magical lock. Fredrick was a master of altering the Sword of Dreams to his liking, so he turned it into what you know of as a Keyblade. He named it the X-Blade since it looked like two Keys crossed into an X to create a blade of Light. Using the X-Blade, he entered the Fortress and took down the Nightmares inside.

"The Dreamers were ecstatic over the new weapon. A weapon that could unlock anything, even those held by magical bindings… with this kind of power, the Dreamers had an immense advantage over the Nightmares. Over time, the X-Blade was studied, and other Keyblades were forged and powered by binding them with the Souls of their owners. Pretty soon, every Dreamer had a Keyblade of their own."

"Even you?" I asked.

"I prefer my wand, personally," Merlin smirked. "No, they offered to forge a Keyblade for me, but I turned them down. 'Too old to fight' and such, I told them. But again, I'm getting off track… Eventually, we found out that the Keyblades could unlock the Hearts of different Dreams. The Hearts had a near-limitless amount of energy, and just one of them could purge a Dream of anything the Dreamers deemed unworthy.

"We… had a very bitter split on the question of if extracting the Hearts of Dreams was worth it if we used them to stop the Nightmares. Half of us remained in our Dream, steadfastly refusing to ruin Dreams just to further our own needs… the other half wanted to purge all Nightmares at any cost. The Dream Keeper at that time… James was his name, I think. He led the group of Dreamers who wanted to purge the Nightmares.

"We couldn't allow so many Dreams to fall to this cause, and all attempts at a peaceful solution had failed, so the Dreamers enacted a bloody Civil War on each other, known today as the Great Keyblade War. Souls clashed with Souls, Keyblade against Keyblade, brother against brother…"

Merlin closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, staying quiet for a minute.

"…we lost a lot of good Dreamers that day," he finally said. "…somebody finally struck the Dream Keeper down. Some say the Sword of Dreams couldn't handle him anymore, others say the Dreamer that fought him was just abnormally powerful. Either way, the Dream Keeper was defeated, and most of the Dreamers scattered.

"After that, there were barely a hand full of us left. I did my best to keep the Dreamers together and recruit more members, but… well, the Nightmares seemed to grow more powerful by the day. Blockades were erected… pathways severed… all hope seemed to be lost for us. Then, the Sword of Dreams revealed itself in… we'll call him Sora for simplicity's sake.

"Now, here's where I have to explain something. There are two kinds of Dream Keepers: Those who come from the Realm of Waking, and those who come from the Realm of Dreams. Generally, Dream Keepers from the Realm of Waking are more powerful, but in Sora's case… if it weren't for the fact that I actively witnessed him escape from his Dream, I would have sworn that he was from the Realm of Waking. The Sword of Dreams came to him as a Keyblade, and using it, he helped fight against the Nightmares whilst searching for his childhood friends."

"And that's where Kingdom Hearts picks up?" I asked.

"Eeeeh…" Merlin shook his hand in a "so-so" fashion. "More or less… kind of. The actual story is a bit different, but personally, I think I prefer the Video Game's version."

"So… let me see if I've got this straight," Goombella piped up. "The Dreamers fight to protect the Dreams. The Dream Keeper is the most powerful of the bunch and leads the charge against Nightmares. One Dream Keeper made his Sword the X-Blade, and the Dreamers forged Keyblades based after that. There was a big debate over destroying Dreams to purge Nightmares with the Hearts, and there was a massive Civil War. The side for taking the Hearts of Worlds lost when the Dream Keeper was slain, and the Dreamers were crippled. Sora appeared as the next Dream Keeper, and he helped turn the tides back in the Dreamers' favor?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Merlin nodded. "Fast-forward to the present. The Nightmares have become much more ruthless after the Lord of Nightmares took over."

I could feel Coron give an involuntary shudder.

"Who is the Lord of Nightmares?" I asked.

**I think I can take over here,** offered Coron.

"Oh, alright," I nodded. I closed my eyes and focused on the black hand. "Shift!"

* * *

_**Enter Coron:**_

* * *

Pax's body erupted into black flames, and once they faded, I was sitting where he once was. Everyone jumped back in surprise, but Merlin gave a hearty laugh.

"Now THERE'S something you don't see every day!" he said. "I take it you're the Nightmare bound to Pax?"

"Name's Coron," I answered, crossing my arms. "You have five seconds to give me a good reason why I shouldn't deck you right now, old man."

Merlin laughed even harder at this. I was starting to find it hard to dislike him.

Hard, but possible.

"How's this for a reason?" Nozan stepped forward and held out his hands, which were charged with spheres of Light. "Touch Merlin, and I take you down!"

"…are you always this stupid, or is today just special?" I asked him, looking at this pathetic little Dreamer in disbelief. From the looks of him, I was willing to bet that he never even fought in a single battle before.

"I… how DARE you-" Nozan started, but Merlin held out a hand to stop him.

"To answer your question," he said, turning to me, "everything I did to you was to prevent you from getting closer to Pax. Remember, you didn't have a Soul at the time, so you would have tried to kill him. If I hadn't stepped in, none of us would be here."

"…you have a point," I admitted, sitting back down.

"So you were about to talk about the Lord of Nightmares?" encouraged Merlin as Nozan slid back to the wall, glaring daggers at me.

"Yeah…" I nodded. "He's evil, no question about it. Evil, but brilliant. He single-handedly came up with complex and effective ways to completely obliterate Dreams."

"An odd move, since the Nightmares used to just claim Dreams rather than destroy them," noted Merlin.

"I guess… I was born into his rule, though," I reminded him. "He ruthlessly breeds and trains Purebloods to act as a powerful, unstoppable army. We infect others and send them to be trained as foot-soldiers…"

"What about the Lord of Nightmares himself?" Tippi asked.

"He… how do I explain this…" I crossed my fingers and thought for a moment. "…it looks like he USED to be a Nightmare, but… something's not right. It's like he's just a Shell… oh, and he can command the Soul-less Nightmares with no effort at all. It's like he can order anything that's empty around."

_Wait… a shell?_ Pax asked. _Would that make him a Nobody?_

"A creature who's Soul was lost, but the shell remains…" Nozan nodded. "It sounds right."

_But… wait…_ Pax leaned back and floated around the room as he thought. _I thought that Nightmares already don't have Souls. Doesn't that make them Nobodies, too?_

"When a Nightmare loses their Soul, the body remains behind," I explained. "When a Dreamer loses their Soul, they just act like a limp ragdoll."

"The only way to become a Nobody is if you spend enough time inside …," Nozan continued.

"Having fun?" Merlin smirked at Pax as he floated around.

_You know it!_ Pax grinned. I simply sighed and shook my head.

"…who are you talking to?" Goombella asked, looking around the room.

"Oh, nobody," Merlin waved his hand dismissively. "So back to the topic at hand… Nozan, would you like to pick up?"

"I'd be honored, sir," Nozan bowed. "For the last several years, the Lord of Nightmares has been operating inside something called the 'Void.' We can't enter, and we have no idea how he leaves it, but we've come to the conclusion that it may be a section of …, not really existing inside the Dream Realm at all. As you can see though, he managed to do something to release the Void in the Dream Realm, and it's beginning to grow at an incredible rate."

"If the Void came from …, and if it grows to the point where it takes up the entire Dream Realm…" Goombella started.

"…all of the Dream Realm will be completely destroyed," I finished in realization.

"And with the Dream Realm gone, the Realm of Waking will collapse into madness," nodded Nozan.

_Geeze!_ Pax's eyes widened. _Alright, so how do we stop it?_

"That's the other point I wanted to talk to you about," Merlin said. "Can you shift back to Pax, Coron?"

"Yeah," I nodded, closing my eyes and focusing on the mark on my torso. "Shift."

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

Coron's body erupted into light, leaving me behind in his place.

"After the Great Keyblade War," Merlin said as he stood up and walked over to me, "we had to take certain precautions to make sure nothing like that would happen again. At first, we banned the use of Keyblades, but after Sora showed how unpredictable the Sword of Dreams can be, we fortified eight Dreams with all the excess powers of our Souls. These manifested into the Eight Pure Hearts."

Merlin closed his eyes and focused. In a flash of light, a chain with Mickey's head appeared in his hand.

"Attach this to your Sword," he said, offering it to me. I did what he asked, and in a flash of light, the Sword of Dreams became the Keyblade.

"Oh that is SO cool!" I squee'd.

"It gets better," smirked Merlin. He turned around and held out his hand, focusing. The room shook, and all the energy pooled into the far wall. After a moment, a Keyhole appeared in the far wall.

"Use the Keyblade to… take the Pure Heart," panted Merlin, collapsing in a Bean Bag chair. "Once you collect all Eight, you can use their combined power to combat the Void."

I nodded and stood, holding the Keyblade out toward the Keyhole. A beam of Light gathered at the tip of my weapon and shot out toward the Keyhole. There was a sound of a lock clicking, and as the Keyhole vanished, a glowing red Heart appeared. It came close and touched the tip of the Keyblade, absorbing itself in it.

"Sweet!" I fist-pumped before removing the Keychain, turning the Keyblade back into the Sword of Dreams.

"This Dream exists in the exact center of the Dream Realm," Nozan explained as Merlin leaned his head back to rest. "With the Pure Hearts with you, you can rip open pathways to other Dreams. Use this to lead yourself to the Dreams that hold the other Pure Hearts."

"So… long story short," I simplified. "Collect Pure Hearts. Use them to travel to other Dreams that have Pure Hearts. Collect all eight, and save the Dream Realm. Right?"

"Correct," nodded Nozan. "Don't worry, we'll be watching over you as best as we can."

"And I'll be doing everything in my power to aid you on your journey," Tippi added as Mario stood up next to me.

"This is so exciting…" Goombella said as she stood next to me as well. "We're about to travel to other Worlds!"

I nodded as I focused and swung my sword. The air ripped with my blade, and a doorway stood in front of us.

"We'll be back before you'll even have time to miss us!" I said with a wave, stepping through the pathway. Goombella and Mario walked alongside me, and as soon as we entered the rip, the hole closed itself, leaving Nozan and Merlin alone in the house.

"I hope that kid knows what he's doing…" muttered Nozan.

"He'll be fine… oh…" Merlin covered his face. "I feel… off…"

With a groan, a blast of light erupted from him, which took on the form of Goompa. Both Merlin and Nozan stared at him.

"…free?" Goompa looked around. "I'm… FREE!"

He bounced around the room while laughing before vanishing in a blast of light.

"…"

Both Nozan and Merlin stared at the space Goompa was.

"Well!" Merlin clapped his hands. "This is going to be interesting now, isn't it?"

* * *

**Author's Note: Wow, this is long. Anyway, sorry for not posting on Labor Day, but… well, Labor Day and all. Also, the future chapters won't be NEARLY this long, but I had to fit a lot of exposition in this. Anyway, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!**

**PS: I'll TRY to stick to Monday-Wednesday-Friday, but if I can't… well, forgive me, 'kay?**


	3. Chapter 3: Dimensions

**Author's Note: And now, we get to the meat of the matter, the actual story! Admittedly, there really isn't that much to write about in these first few areas in the game… but that doesn't mean I won't try! Enjoy, everybody!**

* * *

_**Chapter 3: Dimensions**_

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

The three of us were standing in a white, empty space. Suddenly, lines started appearing around us, drawing out a field. Colors soon filled the outlines, and in just a minute, we were in the middle of a lush, green field. The sky was blue, the flowers were bright, and even the air itself smelled bright and cheerful. In fact, the only thing that was "off" about the entire scene was the Void floating far off in the sky.

"I like this Dream!" I said, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

"My Stars… this is real!" laughed Goombella, looking over the field with joy in her eyes. "We're in another World! Think of all the new knowledge we could gather! Culture! Biology! There's an almost infinite amount of knowledge we could tap into here!"

"Let's not forget that we're on a mission," Tippi reminded us as she flew in front of us. "We have to find the Keyhole and collect the Pure Heart."

"Right!" I nodded, leading the way forward. "C'mon guys, we'll grab the Pure Heart and be back in time for Lunch!"

**I wouldn't jump to conclusions like that,** Coron warned. **Getting to the Keyhole can't be an easy task, if it connects directly to the Heart of a Dream.**

"Oh relax, just look at this place!" I said, motioning to the peaceful field. "None of Bowser's minions… no traps… nothing!"

"Talking to Coron?" Goombella asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "He's worried about the dangers that might stand between here and the Keyhole."

"Well… I think I actually agree with him," Goombella said. "This is an alien World, Pax. We know NOTHING about it. We may not have to face any of Bowser's minions, but we may have to face something even worse."

"Well… even if we do, we can take it on!" I assured. "With Coron's experience, my Sword, your brains AND fighting skills and Mario's talent, we could take on anything!"

Mario nodded enthusiastically, pumping his fist.

"Well… alright, you have a point," Goombella grinned. "This really is a good team-up, if you ask me."

**Oh brother, are you guys REALLY that easy to sway? **Coron groaned.

"Aw, don't pretend you didn't like my compliment!" I said lightheartedly, "poking" at Coron.

**Touch me again and the next time we Shift, I will jump off a cliff.**

"Okay, okay! Touchy…"

* * *

After a bit of walking, we arrived at a house on top of a hill. Seeing as the only living creatures we encountered so far were pig-like cubed monsters Tippi called Squiglets, we decided to enter and see if anybody was home.

"Maybe they'll be able to direct us to a nearby town," Goombella said hopefully as we arrived.

"Hey, I said I was sorry!" I defended. "It wasn't my fault we got lost!"

"But… you were the one who suggested we headed-" started Tippi.

"That's not important!" I shrugged off, entering the house. The place was completely empty.

"Huh," I blinked. "Guess nobody lives here, then…"

"Guess again," Goombella corrected, searching the empty house carefully. "There was a mailbox outside, and the chimney was smoking. Somebody's definitely living here, they just don't want to be found…"

"I wonder why?" I thought aloud. "As pretty as this place is, it's in the middle of nowhere. I don't see what he would be hiding from."

**Probably from people coming in from other Dreams,** suggested Coron. **It's probably not an accident we wound up in this field when we entered. This must be the "Drop-off Point" in the Dream.**

"So this guy knows about other Dreams," I reasoned. Mario caught our attention by whistling.

"Thank you, Mario," Tippi said. "I think I can sense a hidden Door here."

"Great!" I clapped my hands. "Where?"

"Just a moment…" Tippi turned to a blank wall and focused. A moment later, a section of the wall turned rainbow-colored, and a door was standing there.

"Wow, you're good," I nodded. "What else can you do, Tippi?"

"Oh, you know…" Tippi said modestly as I stepped forward and opened the door. "Just average things. Find information on enemies… scout areas… reveal invisible objects, that sort of thing."

"You know about the monsters of other Worlds?" Goombella asked excitedly.

"No, I simply look at them and-" Tippi started.

"How in the world did you get in here?!" a voice asked, making them turn their heads to the room. Standing… or rather, floating at the far end was an older man on a cloud, with a mustache so big it was ludicrous.

"We walked in," I told him. "We wanted to ask-"

"Oh! I see!" the man interrupted. "No need to finish, I understand what you need! I mean, it is only natural that the Legendary Heroes spoken of in the prophesies would come to me, the Great and Powerful Bestovius, for help!"

"Well actually-" started Tippi.

"But then again…" Bestovius looked us over. "How do I know for certain you're the REAL heroes, and not just imposters?"

In reply, I held out my hand and summoned the Sword of Dreams in a flash of light, making Bestovius jump back in surprise.

"By my magnificent mustache… you're the Dream Keeper!" he said in surprise.

"Yeah, I am," I nodded, returning the Sword of Dreams. "But back to the matter at hand, do you know where-"

"Which must make YOU the legendary Hero of Dimensions!" Bestovius pointed at Mario. He, in turn, pointed at himself with a raised eyebrow.

"Unless you're an imposter…" muttered Bestovius, stroking that ridiculous mustache.

"Okay… look, hero or not, we need-" started Goombella.

"Alright, it's settled!" Bestovius clapped his hands. "If you want my help, you'll have to give me 10,000 Coins!"

"What?!" I asked. "No way, bub! I'd rather take my chances-"

"Alright, alright…" Bestovius sighed. "I just want all your coins, then."

"We're leaving!" Goombella called out as she turned to the door.

"Okay, okay!" Bestovius sighed. "Right, in that case, I'll do the oh-so-common thing and help you for free."

"Now that's more like it," I nodded as Goombella turned back around. "Now then-"

"SHA-ZAM!"

Energy started to fill Mario, and his body started to glow. He looked down at his hands in confusion.

"There we go!" Bestovius nodded. "I have given you the ability to flip between dimensions!"

"…?" Mario tilted his head in confusion.

"You see," Bestovius explained, "each Dream exists in multiple layers of Dimensions. I'm sure neither of us have the time required for me to explain it further, but basically, this lets you 'flip' in between the 2nd dimension-our dimension-and the 3rd dimension. Be warned, though… your body is designed to exist within this 2nd dimension, so spending too much time in the 3rd dimension will hurt you."

"…we just wanted directions to the nearest town," Tippi piped in.

"Uh…" Bestovius blinked. "Oh. Well… just head West outside the house until you hit a path, then follow it to the mountains. It'll be on the other side."

"Got it, thanks!" I waved at him as we walked out the door. "Oh, and thanks for giving Mario the power to Flip!"

Bestovius stared at the door after we all left.

"…okay, I feel like an idiot now," he groaned, covering his face with his hand. "…I still have a better mustache than that Flipper, though."

* * *

_**Enter Dimentio:**_

* * *

"You wanted to see us, Count Bleck?" I asked, walking into the dark room. O'Chunks was already waiting there, and Count Bleck was standing on a platform, Nastasia standing next to him.

"Yes," Count Bleck nodded, glancing up from the Dark Prognosticus he held in his hands. "Nastasia has just brought something to my attention that we could easily… exploit."

"Sounds wonderful!" I grinned, clapping my hands. "Who are we going to end today?"

"Wow, you're really dark, you know that?" asked O'Chunks.

"Eh, whatever," I shrugged off, holding out my hand and creating a comfy chair out of pure darkness, which I plopped onto. "So, what is this exploitable thing you've teased us about?"

"SORRY I'M LATE!"

A second O'Chunks burst through the door, panting.

"Sorry Count, I got lost… in…" O'Chunks slowed to a stop as his eyes fell on the O'Chunks that was already in the room. "How did I… OH, MIMI!"

"Mimimimimimimimi!" giggled the fake O'Chunks. His body was surrounded in purple smoke, and the form of Princess Peach stood in the spot.

"Geeze, would ya quit doing that?!" O'Chunks stomped his foot. "You know I get easily confused!"

"That's not exactly Mimi's problem now, is it?" I asked, examining my nails.

"NOBODY ASKED YOU, DIMENTIO!"

"Uh, hey, could I have your attention?" Nastasia piped in. "Yeah, so, I just caught wind from the Nightmares that a powerful force of light has just entered the Dream Realm."

"The Dream Keeper?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We think so," Count Bleck nodded. "Just as the Dark Prognosticus foretold, he must be gathering the Eight Pure Hearts to combat us."

"And you want us to crush him, right?" O'Chunks asked, punching the palm of his hand.

"Wow, you actually had an intelligent thought!" Mimi giggled. "That's a first!"

"Watch it!" warned O'Chunks, glaring at the Polymorphic Nobody.

"To answer your question, O'Chunks…" Count Bleck raised his voice only slightly, so as to catch our attention. "Yes, I would very much like for you to crush this Dream Keeper before he becomes a problem."

I raised my eyebrow in question. I was wearing a mask so nobody could see this, but Count Bleck held out a hand to me, as if saying that he would explain it in a minute.

"Alright, don't worry Count!" O'Chunks saluted. "I won't fail you!"

"You had better not," Count Bleck replied, a tone of warning in his voice. O'Chunks gulped before holding out his arms. The Void came in around him, and in a moment he was gone, on his way to the Dream.

"…you want to gauge how powerful the Dream Keeper really is," I said to Count Bleck as I realized this. "And who better to throw at him to measure his strength than the blubbering oaf who relies solely on his strength?"

"Bravo, Dimentio," smirked Count Bleck. "Would you do the honors of keeping an eye on him? Make sure the Dream Keeper doesn't utterly destroy him, he's still of use to us."

"It would be my pleasure," I said as I stood up and bowed to him.

"It really shouldn't take you that long, anyway," Mimi mused as she examined Peach's nails. "O'Chunks won't last five minutes against that stupid Dream Keeper."

"Still sore about losing to him back when he was still using a Hammer?" I smirked.

"H-hey!" Mimi turned into Bowser as she glared at me. "How do you know about that?!"

"I'll just say… a Dream filled completely with Gem-filled pools and Hunky Lifeguards?" I smirked, crossing my arms. "You gotta have higher goals, if you ask me."

"HAVE YOU BEEN READING MY DIARY?!" To be honest, I never thought I'd see Bowser blush. I laughed as I held out my hands and ordered the Darkness to take me to the Dream. In a single instant, I was gone.

* * *

**Author's Note: Not much to say about this chapter, really… so, until next time, this is Pax the Dreamer, signing out!**


	4. Chapter 4: Keychains

**Author's Note: Okay, I know last chapter didn't have much, but… um… OH LOOK CHAPTER WOO**

* * *

_**Chapter 4: Keychains**_

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

We followed the path Bestovius pointed out to us for about an hour before we noticed a major difference. The grassy field surrounding us was slowly being replaced with a rocky ground, and the path began to slope upward. It was a steady incline at first, but eventually it became much sharper. We had just finished climbing a particularly steep incline and were resting on a plateau.

"Geeze, no wonder nobody comes or goes this way," I panted, wiping the sweat off my brow. "I'd hate to be somebody in this town who wants to just have a nice picnic."

Mario nodded in agreement, fanning himself with his hat.

"I can feel the presence of other people…" Tippi said, flying next to Mario's head. "The town can't be that far away."

"Perfect!" I stood back up, rolling my shoulders. "Maybe we can find a place to buy some bottled water or something. I don't know about you, but-"

"Pax!"

I turned my head in time to see Goombella slam into me, knocking me aside JUST in time to avoid a Koopa Shell.

"Ow… thanks Goombella," I nodded, standing up and summoning the Sword of Dreams.

"Would it kill you to be a little more observant?" Goombella asked as she got into battle position herself.

**I think I like this girl,** smirked Coron.

"What are Koopas doing here, anyway?" I asked, ignoring Coron. "They're not from this Dream!"

"I have no idea," Goombella shook her head. "What I DO know, though, is that they're standing between us and the town."

"Hey… wanna play a game, guys?" I asked as Mario stood next to me in battle position.

"I don't think this is a proper time for-" started Tippi.

"Let's see who can take out the most Koopas before we get to town," I smirked. "The loser buys the winner Lunch when we get back to Flipside."

"…oh you are SO on!" Goombella said, a competitive fire lighting in her eyes. Mario nodded and got a head-start, jumping on a nearby Koopa. Once it went back into its shell, Mario kicked it forward, knocking out a few Koopas standing in a line.

"You're going down, Mario!" I laughed as I ran forward, beating and slashing my way through Koopas. Goombella followed close behind as she took out her own number of Koopas.

"…" Tippi sighed as she slowly followed behind.

* * *

"Alright, final count!"

We stood in front of a chasm, a pile of unconscious Koopas around us.

"Mario got… twenty-three, right?" Goombella asked. Mario shook his head and held up four fingers.

"Twenty-four then," I nodded, smirking. "Me, I got twenty-FIVE. Looks like you guys are gonna buy me a nice hot-"

"Thirty," Goombella said smugly.

"…come again?" I asked. Mario looked surprised.

"You boys REALLY need some practice if you're being beat by a Goomba," Goombella winked as she walked past us. "You're just lucky I'm in the mood for Stew today."

"Oh, you're good," I nodded with a smirk.

"I know," Goombella replied. "Alright, back to the matter at hand… how are we supposed to cross this chasm?"

"Obviously there must be some way," I said as I stood next to her, scanning the area around the chasm. "Otherwise, how would the people in this town get supplies?"

"Then again, how do we know they don't supply themselves?" Goombella asked. "You saw how difficult it is to climb that mountain, plus how deserted the field back there was…"

"But a clear path led this way, so people have obviously traveled this way before," I reasoned. "Plus, it's not faded or anything, so it must be used for occasional travel at LEAST."

"Good point," nodded Goombella. "…hey, where did Mario go?"

The two of us looked around, not seeing Mario anywhere.

"He left toward that house over there while you two were talking…" Tippi said.

"Well that was rude!" I huffed.

"Eh… not really, I can see where he's coming from," Goombella said. "We do kind of get sidetracked when we talk about these kinds of things."

"I wouldn't say sidetracked, just trying to figure out what's going on in the world around us," I argued.

"I'd agree with you, but-where did that bridge come from?"

We both turned to the bridge that was suddenly crossing the chasm.

"…huh," I blinked as Mario walked back to us. "Did you do this?"

Mario shook his hand in a "so-so" fashion.

"Well, did you get somebody else to do it?" Goombella asked. Mario nodded.

"Well, whatever, at least we can cross now!" I said cheerfully, leading the way across the bridge. The town on the other side of the chasm was small, but it still held a sense of power around it.

"Alright, somebody around here aughta know where the Keyhole is!" I said optimistically as we walked through town. "Heck, maybe the Keyhole is in this town!"

**I wouldn't put money on that,** Coron said as Tippi stopped in front of a vacant house. **But I will agree with you in the fact that this town has… SOMETHING powerful. I can feel it.**

"Me too," I agreed. "…hey, Earth-erm, whatever planet we're on to Tippi?"

"There's… SOMETHING in here…" she muttered. With a shrug, Mario pushed the door open for her to fly in.

"…wait a second, isn't this technically trespassing?" I pointed out as me and Goombella followed suit.

"Do you see any of the villagers trying to stop us?" Goombella retorted.

"Eh, fair enough point," I shrugged as Mario rubbed his chin in thought, seeing as the room was completely empty. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers, having an idea. He held out his hands, and Mario kind of… well, space seemed to "flip" around him as he vanished. A few seconds later, space "flipped" once again, revealing Mario standing next to a treasure chest. His eyes were wide and he was shaking like a leaf.

"Are you alright?" Tippi asked. In response, Mario held up one finger before falling forward, landing flat on his face.

"I think that's a no," I answered for him.

**Gee, you think?**

"Uh, hey, mister 'I have arms,' Mario's trying to get up," Goombella said as Mario tried pushing himself up shakily.

"Oh, right!" I rushed over to him to help him up, leaning him against a wall. As I did this, Goombella and Tippi approached the chest to examine it.

"Fascinating…" my girlfriend muttered. "This seems to be based off the Dreamer technology I found in the world beyond the Thousand Year Door…"

"It is most certainly of Dreamer make, but it's _much_ older than anything I'm used to," Tippi added. "Dream Keeper, try using the Keyblade to open the chest."

"Two things," I said as I attached the chain to the Sword of Dreams, turning it into the Kingdom Key. "One, just call me Pax. Two, you don't have to tell me twice!"

I jumped back and twirled the Keyblade above my head, swinging it down to point at the chest.

About a minute passed with nothing happening.

**Just TAP IT you drama queen**, Coron sighed, face palming.

"Hey, excuse me for trying to add some finesse," I huffed as I approached the chest.

**Finesse… YOU ARE OPENING A CHEST WITH A GIANT KEY.**

"KeyBLADE," I corrected him.

**I'm beginning to miss being evil,** Coron groaned, burying his face in his hands. I ignored him as I tapped the top of the chest twice with the Keyblade. The rim of the chest glowed for a second before it opened, and from it flew a… um…

"Tippi?" I asked, tilting my head at the creature that looked like it was made of a bunch of polygons fused together into a square hand-like shape. "What in the name of all that is good and holy is that?"

"HIM, thank you very much," the assortment of polygons huffed. "Don't you know a Pixl when you see one?"

"Cone again?" I blinked.

"You're even traveling with one for goodness sakes!" the Pixl noted, moving his "thumb" to motion to Tippi.

"Ahuh," Goombella said flatly, not buying it. "So you're telling me that the hand-shaped assortment of squares is the same species as the rainbow-colored butterfly?"

"Well, the Keyblade takes on MANY different forms," the Pixl retorted. "Doesn't mean it becomes a completely different weapon."

"…point," Goombella conceded. "So, what is a Pixl?"

"A Soul, basically," the Pixl clarified as Tippi slowly hovered to the back. "Well… kind of. Put simply, a Pixl is a mass of ideals and thoughts from all over the Dream World, fused with magic to become a Soul."

"Neat!" I said. "So, what ideals are you made of, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Movement!" the Pixl said emotionally, moving forward. "Society must always move, else it begins to stagnate! For the good of all humanity, we must be ready and willing to constantly change, to move forward! Even if it means disobeying the laws set to us by man that we believe to be unjust, we must stand by our beliefs!"

The Pixl turned. "I am Thoreau, the spirit of all cultural movement!"

"Thoreau?" I laughed. "Like, Henry David Thoreau?"

"Right!" Thoreau nodded. "To be honest, his ideals influenced my creation the most, hence the similarity in names… though I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised a kid your age knows about him."

"Eh, my Mom was a hippie," I shrugged. 'I grew up learning about famous pacifists."

"You have GOT to tell me more about your world later," Goombella said, honest curiosity in her voice.

"But anyway," Thoreau said, "I digress. Since you're here, I take it the prophecy is about to be fulfilled?"

"Prophecy?" I asked. "What prophecy?"

"Wait… you don't know the prophecy?" Thoreau asked. "You are the legendary Dream Keeper himself, and you don't know the prophecy?"

"Uh… no," I shook my head. "Merlin never mentioned one."

Thoreau sighed. "Right. It went something like… um… 'When the Void appears and Devours worlds, the Chosen one, the Innocence, the Beast and the Man in Green will stand by the Dream Keeper as they face the Nothing in the Void."

"The Nothing in the what now?" I asked as Mario perked at the mention of the "Man in Green."

"Hey, I didn't write it," Thoreau shrugged. "If I did, I would have simplified it a decent bit. But, that's neither here nor there. My sole purpose of creation was to aid you in your quest."

"Well, sweet!" I grinned, holding out a hand. "Come on with us, the more the merrier!"

Thoreau smiled sadly and shook his head. "Uh, I don't think you quite understand. See, Pixls aren't supposed to remain like this, with a full conscious and all."

"Come again?"

"The reason we're like this is a by-product of creating a soul," Thoreau explained. "Once a connection has been established, I take on the form of a Keychain for you to use."

"So you're just going to… stop existing?" Goombella asked.

"Oh not quite," Thoreau assured. "I'm just going to be… not me, I guess. But there's no reason to get sad or anything, this is literally the entire reason for my creation. To tell you the truth, it was getting a little boring sitting in that chest for so many years."

Thoreau approached the Keyblade in my hand. "Now, at least I'll be _doing_ something. Use me as you will, Dream Keeper, to keep society-and anything else you see fit-moving!"

Thoreau touched the Keyblade. There was an explosion of light, and when the room dimmed again, the Keyblade I was holding took on a different form. The texture looked blocky, and they Key's teeth looked like square fingers emerging from the side. The Keychain itself looked like Thoreau, attached to a chain that hooked to the end of the Keyblade.

"…we shouldn't mourn his departure," Tippi clarified. "As he stated, he was created for this purpose, so it would be silly of us to-"

"Neat!" I blurted, interrupting Tippi as I swung the new Keyblade around. "This thing looks awesome!"

"Alright, I can see I'm not needed…" Tippi muttered, coming to a rest on Mario's hat. He pushed himself off the wall, finally well enough to stand on his own.

"I wonder what this thing can do…" I muttered, looking at the empty chest in front of us. A thought occurred to me as I concentrated on the chest, flicking the Keyblade in its direction. A clear box seemed to spring around the chest. I slowly lifted the Keyblade skyward, and as I did, the clear box, along with the chest inside of it, lifted as well.

"Awesome!" I laughed, making the chest fly around the room. "A telekinetic Keyblade! Two awesome things rolled into one!"

"Uh, Pax?" Goombella slowly backed away from me, keeping her eyes on the chest. "You might want to be a little more careful with that…"

"Oh, what's the worst thing that could happen?" I shrugged, Keyblade still in my hand. This shrug took the chest with it, making it crash through the ceiling and fly off.

"…oops," I blinked.

"_That's_ why I was worried," Goombella clarified. "We might want to, you know, make sure that chest didn't hit anybody."

"Yeah, good idea," I nodded, making the Keyblade vanish in a flash of light as I rushed out the door. My friends followed suit, and it didn't take any of us long at all to see where the chest wound up.

"MY BACK!" the old man screamed, clawing at the ground in front of him. "SWEET MERCIFUL DREAM GUARDIANS, MY BACK!"

"Who could have done this?!" one villager asked as she and a few others tried to shove the surprisingly heavy chest off the old man. Mario, Goombella, Coron and Tippi all turned to glare at me.

"…so we all make a few mistakes here and there," I shrugged.

"YOU PUT AN OLD MAN IN PHYSICAL PAIN," Goombella replied bluntly.

"Hey, you've seen the old people in our adventures!" I defended. "They ALWAYS bounce back!"

"That was in another world entirely!" Goombella reminded me. "You don't know the laws of this world!"

I opened my mouth to argue, but after a moment's thought, closed it again.

"Point," I admitted, hurrying to the Old Man as I summoned the Keyblade again. "Hang on, old dude!"

Using the Keyblade's powers, I lifted the chest off the Old man's back before swinging it over my head and tossing it as far away as I could. It vanished far off into the horizon with a *ding!*, like how Team Rocket always disappears in the Pokémon anime.

"There we go!" I said cheerfully, this time remembering to remove the Keychain from the blade before making it vanish. I put it in my pocket as I turned to face the Old man. He, and everyone else in the village, were staring at me with wide eyes as Mario helped the old man up.

"Y… you're the Dream Keeper!" one villager gasped. "By the Dream Guardians! The prophecy is finally coming into fruition!"

"Hey, hey!" The old man pushed Mario away. "Watch it! I'm perfectly capable of carrying myself, thank you very much!"

He turned to walk to me. "Now then, I think I'll be the judge of-YEOWCH!"

The old man fell over again, gripping his back in pain. Mario silently walked to his side and offered a glove hand, smiling in a friendly fashion. After a moment's hesitation, the old man took Mario's hand. The plumber helped him back up.

"Sorry about the chest," I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my head.

"Ah it's fine," the old man shrugged off. "It's not like you threw it on me or anything."

I avoided eye contact.

"Anyway, who are you?" Goombella asked, trying to help draw attention away from me.

"I'm old man Watchitt-" the old man started.

"Hey, sorry!" Goombella backed up. "Didn't mean to freak you out."

"Wha… hey, watch it!" the old man barked. "I didn't say watch it, I said Watchitt!"

"Watch WHAT?" I asked in exasperation.

"MY. NAME. IS. OLD. MAN. WATCHITT!" he screamed. "W-A-T-C-H-I-T-T!"

"…oooooooooh," Goombella and I said simultaneously.

"Yeah, now I feel stupid," Goombella admitted.

"Welcome to my world," I smirked.

"Uh, hey?" Watchitt called. "Watch it, I'm still right here."

He shuffled over toward me, Mario staying by his side to keep him upright. "Now then… what proof do you have that you're the Dream Keeper?"

"…you JUST saw me use the Keyblade to move that Chest off you," I pointed out.

"Well any Dreamer could come around with a Keyblade," Watchitt rebutted.

"Even after the Keyblade War?" Goombella raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm not buying it."

"I can also vouch for him being the Dream Keeper," Tippi piped in. "And the man helping you up is none other than the Chosen Hero."

"Plus, I just got the Pixl that resided in this town," I motioned to the house we just came from. "And that was his chest that landed on you, AND you saw me use his Keychain to move it off you."

"All the evidence points to him being the Dream Keeper, so if you're done playing 20 Questions, can you PLEASE tell us where the Keyhole is?" Goombella finished, tapping a foot in frustration.

…**I REALLY like this girl.**

"Hey, she's _my_ girlfriend," I whispered to Coron as Watchitt looked between us in defeat.

"…right," he sighed, pulling out a cell phone. "Hey, Green? Yeah, it's Watchitt… no, Watchitt… hey, WATCH IT! …I wasn't even saying… gah, never mind. Listen, I got the Dream Keeper here… yeah, he needs access to the desert… alright? Alright. Bye."

Watchitt hung up. "Take the bridge at the far end of town. Follow the desert path to a pillar, then show the Sword of Dreams. The ruins that contain the Keyhole will show itself to you."

"Got it," I saluted. "Need help getting back to your house?"

"Hey, watch it," Watchitt warned. "I may be old and frail with a bad back and kidney and ribs and…"

As he continued to list these off, Mario gently let go. Watchitt didn't even seem to notice as he closed his eyes to continue complaining. We nodded to each other and snuck off toward the far bridge.


	5. Chapter 5: O'Chunks

_**Chapter 5: O'Chunks**_

* * *

_**Enter Dimentio:**_

* * *

"Heheh… " O'Chunks muttered as I walked up behind him. "Once the Dream Keeper walks through here, I'll ambush 'im!"

I tapped his shoulder, making him scream and jump at least five feet in the air, whirling to face me.

"Dimentio!" he glared. "Would ye stop scarin' me like that?!"

"For a big guy, you sure do startle easily," I noted, leaning against a nearby rock.

"Go away," O'Chunks growled, shrugging me off as he turned back around. "Count Bleck wanted _me_ to fight the Dream Keeper, ya will just be gettin' in me way!"

"I don't really think you'll be doing any fighting here," I said.

"Yea?" O'Chunks turned his head to me. "Why not?"

"For one," I pointed to the spot he was waiting to ambush. "This isn't even a path here, so you have no way of knowing they'd come into this area."

"…well, ya never-" O'Chunks started.

"Secondly," I continued, motioning my hand to the desert, "the Dream Keeper is already on the exact OPPOSITE side of the Desert. There is no possible way he's going to pass by this area."

"Um…" O'Chunks rubbed the back of his head.

"If you want to ambush him," I sighed, covering my forehead with my hand, "head for the path to the ruins. The Keyhole's there, so the Dream Keeper's going to head there."

"Right!" O'Chunks said eagerly. "Glad I thought of it!"

It took my all not to stab him.

"Hey, idiot!" I called after him as he started to march through the desert. "At the rate you're going, the Dream Keeper will be in the ruins before you get to a good ambush spot!"

O'Chunks turned to yell at me, but I cut him short by holding out my hand and opening a portal to Darkness.

"Oh, thanks!" O'Chunks said, running through. I sighed as the portal closed behind him. One minute he's ready to pound me for calling him an idiot, the next he's thanking me like an old friend? I will never understand that oaf…

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

"The heroes go marching three by three hurrah! Hurrah!" I sang as we marched.

"The heroes go marching three by three hurrah! Hurrah!" Goombella sang right with me.

"The heroes go marching three by three…" I started, pointing to Goombella.

"When they need a rest they stop by a tree!" Goombella continued.

"And they all go marching…"

"Down from the tooooooown!" we finished simultaneously.

"Was that really necessary?" Tippi asked as Coron tried to beat his incorporeal self into unconsciousness.

"I thought it was fun," I rebutted, sticking my tongue out at her as Mario silently swayed his fingers to the beat of the song we just sang. "AH! GAH!"

"What's wrong?" Goombella asked as I started coughing.

"I… I swa-*COUGH*-swallowed some s-*COUGH, COUGH*-sand!" I said hoarsely, gripping my throat.

**Instant Karma!** laughed Coron as I gently rubbed my throat, coughing the sand up.

"I don't think Karma would care about singing…" I muttered, standing back up straight and clearing my throat. "Right. Now, where were we?"

We took a moment to gather our surroundings. The desert was wide and expansive, dotted only by rocks and an occasional palm tree on top of the run of the mill monsters that seemed to dot this entire world.

"Hm…" Goombella turned her head to watch her ponytail sway in the wind. "Based on the wind, we're still going the right way…"

"By that, you mean we've been walking in a straight line," Tippi sighed. "We should have gotten more precise directions from Watchitt…"

"Before or after he listed all the things that were wrong with his body?" Goombella retorted. This silenced Tippi.

**If we had access to even a FRAGMENT of the Ruins**, Coron thought, **I could use its Aura to track down the actual ruins themselves.**

Suddenly, a strong burst of wind kicked up another chunk of sand, temporarily blinding us in a sandstorm. We gathered close together and held onto each other to make sure nobody was lost during the storm. Roughly a minute later, the sand finally subsided, leaving us coated in sand.

"That's got to be the FIFTH sand storm in an hour!" Goombella said as Tippi peeked out from under Mario's hat, having hidden under there to protect herself from the sandstorm. "I'll be glad when we get to those ruins, even if it's full to the brim with monsters. Anything's gotta be better than walking with sand in your shoes."

"I'll say," I agreed, reaching for her. "Eyes."

Goombella shut her eyes as I lifted the helmet off her head. Sand poured from it, falling across her face. She gagged and started coughing as I brushed her hair with my hand to get the sand out.

"You inhaled some of the sand, didn't you?" I smirked, plopping the helmet back on her head.

"So I had the moxie to succumb to my body's basic need for oxygen and inhale," Goombella stuck her tongue out at me. "No need to mock me."

"You are so cute when you're frustrated," I said, poking her cheek.

"Pax, that is one of the OLDEST lines in the book," Goombella rolled her eyes, blushing despite herself. "Consider yourself lucky I'm soft enough to fall for it."

Mario tugged at my shirt to catch my attention. He pointed in the distance, an odd shape sitting silhouetted against the horizon.

"Huh," I blinked. "Didn't notice that before."

"Maybe it's a fragment of the ruins?" Goombella suggested.

**Speak of the devil**, Coron blinked.

"C'mon," I said, leading the way to it. "If it _is_ a fragment of the ruins, Coron can use it to track down the actual ruins."

"And if it's not?" Tippi countered.

"We go back to walking," I shrugged. "Really, what do we have to lose?"

"Much needed time…" Tippi said ominously, looking at the Void sitting in the sky. I ignored her pessimism as I continued to walk. As we got closer to the object, we saw something that really did look like a fragment from the ruins… or at least, it was definitely a broken off chunk of an ancient marble pillar, and really, what else would that have come from?

"Alrighty Coron, your turn," I said as I approached the pillar. "Shift!"

* * *

_**Enter Coron:**_

* * *

Pax's body erupted into black flames, and a second later I emerged from them.

_Holy crap!_ Pax said, looking at the spot where we Shifted from. _The sand turned into glass! That is SO cool!_

"And you are easily amused," I rolled my eyes as I stood next to the pillar, placing a hand on it and concentrating. In my mind's eye, shapes started to take form… archways… marble halls… a Keyhole-

A BLINDING light burst through my mind's eye, physically hurting me as I jumped away from the pillar, like one would jump away from a hot stove.

"Sweet merciful…" I rubbed my eyes with my hands, seeing spots.

"What's wrong?" Goombella asked, standing next to me.

"The Dreamers were smart when they constructed the structure…" I muttered, blinking a few times to get rid of the spots. "They used some sort of spell to prevent a Nightmare from tracing it down."

"So you can't get us to the ruins?" Tippi asked.

"I never said that," I replied. "It's an ancient spell. Powerful, but everything weakens with age. With just a little bit of applied force, I can shatter the enchantment and trace it just like I would anything else. I just need time to concentrate…"

I closed my eyes and got on my knees, pressing both my hands against the pillar and clearing my mind of all thoughts. In my mind's eye, I saw the energies flowing off everything. I could feel the auras of Goombella and Mario and even Tippi's blinding light. I could feel the enchantment surrounding the marble pillar. I was about to try picking that apart when I "saw" a wall of darkness form in a square around us. My eyes shot open as I jumped to my feet.

"Couldn't break the enchantment?" Goombella asked curiously. Ignoring her, I turned and fired an arrow of darkness out of my palm in a random direction. A black wall suddenly appeared a little ways away, the arrow bouncing off and vanishing into shadows.

"What the-" Goombella started.

"It's a trap!" I growled, bending over into battle position.

"Right ye are, laddie!"

A chunk of sand nearby exploded into a pillar, shooting far into the air. Once the sand fell back to the ground and the air cleared, we could see a beefy, unintelligent looking man glaring at us, cracking his oversized fists. I recognized him immediately as O'Chunks from the Organization.

"Feast yer eyes on yer DOOM, Dream Keeper!" he laughed, pointing at us. "Ya will wish ya never crossed paths with… erm…"

He looked between us, scratching his head in confusion.

"None of ya LOOK like the Dream Keeper…" he muttered.

_Should we shift?_ Pax asked.

**No,** I replied as a thought. **He's from the Organization, probably with orders to fight you. If we're lucky, we can get out of this without having to exhort the effort of fighting.**

_Organization?_

**I'll explain later!**

"Uh… Dream Keeper?" Goombella asked, playing dumb. "What's that supposed to be?"

"Well he's… um…" O'Chunks scratched his beard in thought. "Ya know, I don't really know meself… all I know is that he's gonna ruin everything we worked hard to set into motion, and I'm supposed to crush 'im like a bug."

"Sounds like a real jerk," I nodded, playing along.

"Oh, silly me!" O'Chunks smacked his forehead with his palm. "I hadn't even introduced meself yet! Me name's O'Chunks, Number 4 in the New Organization!"

"Organization?" asked Goombella, looking at me in suspicion. "I've never heard of THAT, before…"

"Most people haven't," O'Chunks shrugged. "The last Organization was a LONG time ago, so people think they're just a legend… say though, I'm a wee bit curious… why are ya two followin' a Nightmare?"

Mario and Goombella looked at each other.

"Um… see, funny story-" Goombella started.

"And why do ya have a heart on yer chest?" O'Chunks pointed at the mark on my torso. "The only Nightmare I know who has that is… is…"

O'Chunks' underused brain worked over time to light the figurative bulb over his head.

"Yer Coron!" he pointed at me. "Yer the little traitor who got a piece of the Dream Keeper's soul!"

_Busted…_ Pax muttered.

"So what if I am?" I asked, cracking my fists. "I'm happier with a Soul. You should really try it sometime."

Agony flashed across O'Chunks' face as I smirked… for about a second before that damn conscience kicked in and I felt bad for hurting him like that.

"Ya… ya little… YER GONNA PAY FOR THAT!" O'Chunks screamed, slamming his fists against the ground. The sand exploded under his fists, but rather than scattering, they stopped mid-air for a minute before flying to his fists, making spiked gloves of sand.

"Smooth move, Einstein!" Goombella shouted at me as Mario brought out his hammer.

"I'm sorry, geeze!" I groaned, clenching my fists and turning them into clubs. O'Chunks made the first move, running at us with his fists held high. Goombella dove to the left, Mario to the right, and I ran at him head on. Once we were close enough to trade blows, he swung his left fist at me. I turned to the left, still moving, missing his arm by mere inches. Once in this position, I jabbed my right club into his left elbow joint. Not wasting any time, I spun on the spot and slammed my left elbow back, hitting the oaf dead in the face. O'Chunks was launched back a bit, but the sand moved around him to cushion his blow and stand him straight up.

His left arm hanging limp by his side, O'Chunks swung his right arm down and hit the sand, sending a wave of sand after me with the speed and force of a freight train. The force and angle of this sand wave launched me high into the air.

Mario ran forward, jumping high with his hammer over his head. O'Chunks managed to turn in time to see him, however, and manipulated his sand gauntlet to become a giant hand, which he used to grab Mario. O'Chunks spun him around once before tossing him straight at Goombella, who was charging toward O'Chunks.

This seemed to be their plan, however, as Goombella jumped and flipped through the air. Mario hugged his arms to his chest and spun his leg, kicking Goombella and launching her at O'Chunks. With the momentum caused by this making him spin in the air, he tossed the Hammer into the air toward me and somersaulted to land back on his feet a few yards away.

I managed to catch the hammer and correct myself in mid-air as Goombella smacked into O'Chunks, the force of the collision launching Goombella back a bit and making O'Chunks stumble. I took advantage of him being momentarily stunned to toss the Hammer straight at him, smacking him right in the face and knocking him on his back. I landed on my feet and stretched out my arm to catch the hammer before it flew off somewhere in the sand.

"I believe this is yours," I said, turning and handing it to Mario as he and Goombella ran to my side. Mario smiled and nodded as he took his hammer back.

"Uh, GUYS!" Goombella warned. Mario and I spun our heads back to see the sand engulf O'Chunks and drag him under.

"Stay on your toes!" I warned, holding out my arms defensively as I kept my eyes on the ground.

"Tippi, you can see things that we can't," Goombella said, her eyes peeled on the sand as well. "Can you pinpoint O'Chunks' location?"

"I can try," Tippi said uncertainly, flying higher to get a better look at our surroundings.

"Everyone, scatter," I ordered, slowly backing up. "If we put space in between ourselves, he won't be able to get all of us at once."

"We also can't get to each other as quickly to help when he DOES pop up," Goombella retorted, moving herself. Mario whistled, drawing our attention to him as he jumped onto the pillar.

"Smart!" Goombella said, running over to the pillar herself. "If we're not on the sand, he can't grab us as easily!"

I followed behind, keeping my eyes on the sand.

"HE'S SURFACING NEAR CORON!" Tippi shouted from up above. Not wanting to give the guy any more of an opportunity than he already had to attack me, I jumped as far as I could. This proved to be inconsequential, as O'Chunks launched himself out of the sand and grabbed me in the air, turning around and slamming me down to the ground. The sand under me hardened during the impact, making it feel like my skull was slammed against concrete. As if that wasn't bad enough, O'Chunks started to pound on my skull with his fists, delivering rapid-fire punches. I THINK it was roughly ten hits per second, but it was happening so fast that it was difficult to keep up.

That and, you know, HE WAS POUNDING MY SKULL INTO SLUDGE. That tends to impair someone's cognitive abilities.

Lucky for me, Goombella slammed herself into O'Chunks' back, staggering him long enough for Mario to run up and jump-kick his side, knocking him away from me.

"Sh… shift…" I managed, head light.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

Coron's body erupted into light, leaving me laying in his spot. I rolled to my feet, summoning the Sword of Dreams.

"Take a breather, buddy," I told Coron. "You earned it."

**Thanks…** Coron managed before disappearing from view. I could feel him retreat into the back of my mind to recuperate.

"What the…?" O'Chunks stood himself up as Mario and Goombella stood defensively at my side. "Oh, so NOW ye show up, Dream Keeper?! Ye know, it's a mite rude to leave an ambusher a-waitin'!"

"You could also say it's rude to wait for someone in ambush," I rebutted, giving my sword a few practice swings.

"You are SUCH a hypocrite," Goombella rolled her eyes.

"Hey, what do you mean?" I asked, turning to her.

"Remember when Doopliss stole your-sorry, Mario's body?" she asked. "You and Vivian waited in ambush for us to take the Crystal Star and head back to the Creepy Steeple."

"Oh yeah, I remember that!" I said with a nod. "…okay, in our defense, that was the only way we could think of getting you guys back to the Steeple."

"That doesn't change the fact that you did it," Goombella smirked.

"Okay, alright," I admitted. "_Sometimes_ it's alright to ambush-"

"Oi!" O'Chunks waved his arms around. "Remember me?!"

"Oh, right," I blinked, turning back to him. "We were about to defeat you."

"Defeat… TRY _THIS_ ON FER SIZE!" shouted O'Chunks, slamming his fists against the ground rapidly. With each punch he delivered, a boulder of sand launched up, floating in the air. An idea struck me.

"Get behind me!" I said to Mario and Goombella, pulling Thoreau's Keychain out of my pocket and attaching it to the Sword's hilt. Once O'Chunks had about a dozen boulders floating around him, he screamed and punched the air, commanding the boulders to fly toward us. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing. I could feel a spark in my heart as the Keyblade began to glow. My eyes jolted open as I took a single step forward and swung the Keyblade horizontally. The boulders froze on the spot, now under my telekinetic control.

"What the…?" O'Chunks asked in shock as I spun the Keyblade over my head, causing the boulders to spin around us. I jumped onto one, prompting Mario and Goombella to do the same. Conducting the bounders with my Keyblade, we rose into the air, making a circle above O'Chunks.

Finally getting a clue, O'Chunks smashed his fists down to create a barrier of sand around him. I started swinging my Keyblade down, shooting boulder after boulder at him. After five hits, the shield broke, and I didn't give him any chance to create another. One after the other the boulders slammed into him, exploding into sand afterwards, but leaving him badly injured. Finally, it came to our three boulders. I made them fire consecutively, and once each of our boulders hit, we jumped off into the air. Hooking my feet under Mario's hammer, I grabbed Goombella in my left arm, keeping my right arm extended with Keyblade in hand.

Mario tossed us further upwards before turning down and tossing his Hammer at O'Chunks, too dazed from the bounder attacks to put up a good defense. I turned in the air and kicked Goombella further upwards, making a short flip to right myself before using the Keyblade to "grab" Goombella and slam her down toward O'Chunks, head first. As she made her mark, I turned myself down and folded my arms inward, like a bullet. With a final slash, I landed on my hands and knees right next to O'Chunks. He stood still for a moment before physics caught up with me, making a long slash mark in his torso.

"GAH!" O'Chunks stumbled backwards, gripping the mark on his torso. Some kind of ethereal substance slowly started to flow from it. "I… ye… this isn't over… I…"

O'Chunks fell to his knees, panting heavily. Before we had a chance to make a comment, a dome of darkness swallowed O'Chunks up. When it dissipated, he was gone.

"…well then!" I removed the Keychain from my sword. "That was… different!"

"I'll say," Goombella nodded. "Is Coron healed enough to open a Portal?"

"I'll check," I replied, closing my eyes. "Hm… no, he still needs some rest."

"Great," Tippi sighed. "I knew this was a waste of time…"

"Alright Miss Negative, I wouldn't be go as far as to say that," Goombella said, looking over my shoulder. I turned to see what she was staring at, finding myself looking once again at the marble pillar. Apparently during the fight, a chunk of one of the boulders hit the pillar, smacking a chunk of it off and revealing some sort of message.

"Hello, what's this?" I asked aloud, approaching the message to read. "Uh… it's written in some kind of ancient language…"

"It's ancient Dreamer text," Tippi said, landing on my shoulder. "I'll read it… *Ahem* 'Stab your blade into the pillar to be taken to the fortress.'"

"Seriously?" I asked. "THIS is the pillar Watchitt was talking about? It looks like just a _fragment_ of the ruins, not the actual entrance."

"Maybe… the structure is built on a teleportation system," Goombella said. "That enchantment Coron felt, maybe it wasn't a defense at all, but rather a method to link anyone Dreamer who approaches a fragment to the main Hub."

"Only one way to find out," I reasoned, offering an arm to Goombella. "Grab on, guys."

Mario gripped my shoulder as Goombella jumped into my arm. I stabbed the Sword of Dreams right into the pillar, causing the blade to faze through.

There was a flash of light, and just like that, we were re-located.


	6. Chapter 6: Ruins

_**Chapter 6: Ruins**_

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

After the light faded and our eyes adjusted, we found ourselves in the musty hallway of what appeared to be an ancient fortress. The air was thick with the smell of age and the walls were lined with faded images.

"This must be the place!" I said, making my sword vanish. Apparently, that was the ONLY source of light in the ruins, because as soon as the sword vanished, we were left in the dark.

"Okay, keeping the sword out then," I verbally thought, summoning the blade once again and allowing it to fill the otherwise dark hall with light.

"I can feel the Keyhole's energy just ahead…" Tippi said, flying forward. "We just need to head deeper in."

"Hang on!" Goombella said, sitting down. "Before we do anything else, I have to take care of this sand in my shoes before I go crazy."

"Can't it wait?" asked Tippi as Goombella kicked off her shoes, dumping practically half the desert from them.

"You don't have feet, so you wouldn't understand," Goombella retorted. Tippi sighed in defeat as Mario and I, taking a leaf out of Goombella's book, started dumping sand out of our clothes.

"So Tippi, I was wondering…" I asked as I tugged the front of my shirt, sending sand out and leaving my torso much less itchy. "What ideals are you made of?"

"P-pardon?" Tippi asked nervously.

"Pixls are made of thoughts and ideals, right?" I clarified. "And you're a Pixl, right?"

"…" Tippi looked down at the floor.

"And why did Thoreau turn himself into a Keychain, but you stay a Pixl?" I asked, honestly curious. "Is it because you're a different 'type' of Pixl? Do they come in different breeds, or-"

"I'd rather not talk about it, okay?!" Tippi snapped, her voice echoing in the halls. All three of us looked at her in surprise. This was the very first time Tippi had EVER raised her voice.

"I… sorry…" Tippi said, her voice practically a whisper as she backed against the wall. "I just… I don't…"

"No, I mean… hey, _I'm_ sorry," I replied sheepishly. "I didn't know it was a touchy subject. If you don't want to talk about it, I won't make you talk about it."

"…" Tippi actually made a sort of whimpering sound before flying back under Mario's hat to hide.

"Smooth move, cowboy," Goombella said sarcastically as she slipped her shoes back on.

"Hey, I didn't know that would be such a touchy subject!" I defended. "I was just asking some questions!"

"Has it ever occurred to you to, I don't know, process how the questions sound in your head before you spit them out?" Goombella asked as she walked ahead into the hall. "Just a suggestion."

"Hey, I filter!" I said. "…somewhat. The point is, what I asked didn't seem all that offensive in my head!"

"How about out loud?"

"IT WAS AN HONEST QUESTION OF CURIOSITY!"

Mario gave an inaudible sigh as he followed behind us.

* * *

_**Enter Dimentio:**_

* * *

I knelt in silence next to O'Chunks. We were sitting inside of a Corridor of Darkness, in between the Dream and the Void. The Darkness, acting under my command, was filling the inside of O'Chunks' body and repairing his injuries from the inside-out.

"Oh…" O'Chunks stirred, his eyes blinking open. "Wha… Dimentio?"

"The one and only," I said with a mock bow.

"But… I don't understand," O'Chunks felt his torso, still ripped open but filled with Darkness. "That hit shoulda killed me right there."

"Why do you think I was sent with you?" I asked him. "The Dream Keeper is immensely powerful. The Count needed me to make sure he didn't kill you."

"Oh, the Count!" groaned O'Chunks, covering his face with his hands. "He's gonna be FURIOUS with me for failin' him!"

"Hey, don't worry," I said soothingly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The Lord of Nightmares still has use for you. Your punishment won't be too terribly severe."

"Are… are ye sure?" O'Chunks asked nervously.

"Mhm!" I nodded, smirking under my mask where he couldn't see me. "I just need you to do me a favor in return, though."

"Oh yea? What's that?"

"Open yourself up a little." I nodded to the tear in his torso that Darkness was now trickling out of. "Your body is naturally resisting the Darkness. If you open yourself up a little more, I can repair your wounds more quickly."

"But… won't the Darkness corrupt me?" O'Chunks gulped nervously. I let out an overly dramatic sigh.

"You don't have a Soul to corrupt, remember?" I asked. He looked away from me, hurt filling his eyes.

"Well… alright, if ya say so…" O'Chunks said with a defeated tone. With a smirk, I shoved my hands deep into his open wound, the Darkness trailing up my arms. O'Chunks gasped as his eyes rolled back into his head. I could feel his power begin to flow into me, but… wait… what was…

* * *

_It had been awhile since I last came to me home. I had almost forgotten the three story house, with fields of onions stretching as far as the eye could see. The sun had already begun settin' when I arrived, me personal belongin's hangin' on me back. The silhouette of me wee sister swingin' on the old tire swing I used to play with in me youth stood out on the horizon._

"_Hoy there, lassie!" I called out with a wave. Her wee face spun toward me 'afore she leapt from her swing ran right at me, chargin' like an enemy soldier._

"_Conall!" she squee'd in delight as she tackled me straight in the gut, wrappin' her arms 'round me like a deadly squid. I grunted and quite nearly fell on me bum from the force of her tackle, she was so eager!_

"_I see someone's been workin' on her tackles!" I laughed, huggin' the wee lass after regaining me balance._

"_I wanted to give ya somethin' worth rememberin' when you came home!" She peeled her face off my torso and grinned up at me. "How's the War comin' along, brother?"_

_My smile faltered, and she saw it._

"_Aw… forget it!" she tried to keep me upbeat as she jumped off me, taking me by the hand. "We can talk about War later. Fer now, Mum and Dad are waitin' for ya!"_

"_Aye… I bet they are," I agreed, forcing a smile back on my face._

"_They had the servants make a HUGE feast, just for ye!" she continued as she led me to the house by the hand. "Fredrik's boastin' about how he could eat the lot of it all by 'imself, the pig!"_

"_Fredrik hasn't changed a bit, has he?" I laughed._

_We kept talkin' all the way back into the house. For the first time in a while, I felt at peace…_

* * *

"GAH!" I pulled my hands out of him and jumped back, panting and gripping my head. Images flashed in my mind's eye, but they settled down into the back of my mind quick enough.

"Wh… what was all THAT now?" Conall-what? N-no, O'Chunks said, not Conall.

"I… it was nothing," I shook my head, kneeling next to him and putting a hand over his forehead. "Just an after effect of the Darkness healing you. Just… rest."

As I said this, I pooled a haze of dark mist around his face. O'Chunks' breath became deeper as his eyes closed, falling unconscious. I stood up and waved my hand. The Darkness picked O'Chunks up and carried him down the Corridor back into the Void.

What WAS that I saw? I was taking his power, not his memories. At least… I THINK that's what I was doing. My powers have this nasty habit of surprising even myself sometimes.

"Well… no matter," I said to myself, turning the other way and holding my hand out, opening a door back into the Dream. "There's still that pesky matter of the Dream Keeper that needs to be taken care of."

Kicking off from the ground, I floated through back into the Dream.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

A bright light at the top of the stairs we were climbing nearly blinded us from the stark contrast of the dim lighting provided by the Sword of Dreams.

"Hey… I think that's the SUN," I said, squinting up at the light ahead. "OW! EYES! Yeah, that's DEFINITELY the sun!"

"We must have found the exit," Goombella reasoned, keeping her eyes squinted. "Maybe we should turn back and keep looking for the Keyhole."

"Wait," I said, blinking rapidly to bring my sight back. "We were brought to the entrance of the ruins when I stabbed the Sword into the pillar. At least, I think it was the entrance… either way, we should at least check this out before we write it off and backtrack."

"…point," Goombella agreed as we reached the top. We were back in the desert again, but… something was different. Earlier, the desert at least had points of interest, like an occasional palm tree or cactus. But here… the desert was void of anything and completely flat, like some massive battle field. I was about to point this out when a strange noise came from behind, like stone grinding against stone. We all turned to see a panel slide over the stairwell, effectively locking us out.

"…well," I finally said. "THAT'S sure as heck not a good sign."

"Not a good… gee, you THINK?" Goombella retorted. I opened my mouth to say something witty in return when we were interrupted by a massive vibration going through the desert. From the sand emerged a MASSIVE robotic dragon-like creature. Said creature looked down at us with its purple, electronic eyes.

"Intruder detected," it said in a tinny monotone. "Leave immediately or be purged."

"Uh, wait!" I said, holding up my hands. "You have it all wrong, dude! We're just here for the Keyhole!"

"Noted: Intruders admit fault," the dragon continued. "Keyhole must be protected. To protect Keyhole, area must be guarded from intruders. Likely intruders include, but are not limited to: Bored teenagers, treasure hunters, Nightmares, and/or any being who wish to gain unauthorized access to the Keyhole. Observation indicates organic beings match 3.5 of the above listed possibilities. This indicates a 98.38% chance of organic beings being intruders. Intruders must be purged. Ergo, organic beings must be purged."

"Okay, I am an archeologist, NOT a treasure hunter!" Goombella retorted, sounding honestly insulted. "I cannot tell you how many people get that wrong on a near daily basis!"

"Wait!" I said, showing off the Sword of Dreams. "Look, I'm the Dream Keeper! Merlin sent me here to get the Pure Heart!"

The dragon leaned in closer, eyeing me up and down.

"Scan initialized," it said. "Sword of Dreams detected. Soul of Light detected. Alert, Nightmare detected. Elaborate."

"Oh, this?" I wiggled my Nightmare Claw. "I have a Nightmare inside of me. He's kind of fused with my being, but don't worry, he has a Soul."

"Does not compute," the Dragon argued. "No information is available on Nightmares with Souls."

"He borrowed a piece of mine, do you have any data on THAT?" I asked.

"No," the Dragon said bluntly. "However, you still possess the Sword of Dreams. The Sword of Dreams only allows itself to be wielded by the Dream Keeper. Ergo, you are the Dream Keeper."

The Dragon backed up a bit. "Forgive me, Dream Keeper. I must run an in depth analysis on every organic life form that attempts to gain access to the Keyhole."

"I understand," I shrugged. "You can stop calling me Dream Keeper, though. My name's Pax, and this is Goombella and Mario."

"I'm still miffed about that whole treasure hunter stab!" Goombella stuck her tongue out at the Dragon.

"I deeply apologize for my misclassification," the Dragon replied. "Thank you for the input, Pax. I am called Fracktail. My only purpose is to defend the Keyhole from lawless intruders."

"Hang on, back up a minute," I said. "You're a massive, powerful Dragon… and the Dreamers only use you as a bodyguard?"

"Correct," Fracktail answered.

"You realize they're fighting a war against Nightmares, right?" I asked. "Wouldn't it help to sick a giant robot dragon on an army of Nightmares? Just a thought."

"I was not programmed for prolonged or intense battles," Fracktail answered. "Also, I draw power from the Keyhole hidden below. Distance from it will drain my power and I will, eventually, become useless."

"Oh," I blinked. "Well… alright, I suppose that makes sense."

"At any rate, you may pass," Fracktail continued. "The Keyhole is just up ahead."

"Sweet!" I laughed, turning to Goombella. "See, Goombella? I told you this was a good place to check out!"

"Okay, I admit, I was wrong," Goombella rolled her eyes, smirking. "Bask in it now, hero, because it's not going to be a common occurrence."

"Now wait just a second."

This voice came from behind us. We turned around to see a Dark Portal open, and from it emerged a young… man, I think? I dunno, his face was hidden by a really creepy black and white smiling mask. He wore a jester's outfit, and his mere presence seemed to emanate an aura of… I really couldn't put my finger on it. Something about him just seemed… WRONG.

"Who are you?" I asked, gripping the handle of my sword tighter.

"You may call me Dimentio, at your service," he said in mock politeness, bowing to us. "Don't bother introducing yourselves, I already know you."

He pointed to Mario. "You are the Chosen One, as foretold in the prophecy. My, how things do tend to center around you, don't they? I hope you don't feel left out, not being the REAL hero this time."

Mario scowled at Dimentio, pulling his hammer out.

"You're obviously the Dream Keeper," Dimentio continued, pointing to me. "I hope this first REAL mission of yours won't be too strenuous. I, of all people, would absolutely loathe to see you crack under pressure."

The hair on the back of my neck stood up as he said this.

"And you… um…" Dimentio stared at Goombella. "…well, we all need a groupie now, don't we?"

"Oh that's it, you are SO DEAD!" Goombella marched toward Dimentio, looking ready to beat him into dust. With a bored wave, a blast of Darkness erupted from thin air and hit Goombella, launching her back.

"GOOMBELLA!" I ran to her side, making sure she was okay.

"Stars, that stung…" she muttered, sitting up. "Pax, I'm fine. Do me a favor, though, and teach that punk a lesson!"

I nodded and turned around…

…to find nobody standing there.

"Wha… where did he go?" I asked. Mario, who was looking around in confusion, simply turned to me and shrugged.

"Up here, gentlemen and lady!"

We turned our heads up to see Dimentio floating next to Fracktail's head.

"Evacuate the proximity immediately or-" started Fracktail, but it was cut off when Dimentio snapped his fingers. Darkness pooled into Fracktail's body, gathering to the antenna it had on its head. Electricity crackled across its body as its eyes started spinning uncontrollably.

"It would just be so BORING if your journey ended here, wouldn't it?" Dimentio asked, turning his head down to us. "You play nice now, alright?"

With a final wave, Dimentio vanished into shadows.

"Get back here you-" I started.

"Uh, Pax?!" Goombella called out, standing back up. "I think we have bigger problems right now!"

I turned my head to see Fracktail's body stand up and rigid, its head staring straight ahead while its eyes continued to spin.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeep," it said. It didn't make a tone, it just SAID beep. "I am error. Press any key to restart."

The three of us looked between each other in confusion, Mario walking back to my side.

"System not found," Fracktail continued. "Insert install disc. Disc not found. Please confirm disc cover is closed. Read error. Insert boot disc and press enter."

"Does anybody see a drive we could even insert anything into?" I asked. Mario shook his head.

"No response. System may be busy or melting into slag."

I snickered.

"Pax!" Goombella glared.

"What? That was funny!"

"Application error. Save your work and quit. You lost everything. Way to go, genius."

This time, Goombella snickered with me.

"Okay, I admit, THAT one was good," she said.

"Waiting for processors. '404 computer hamsters not found.'"

"Wait," I held up my hand. "404 what now?"

"Threat level upgraded to jelly roll 1. Detonation Imminent."

"Yeeeeeeah, he's broken," I said.

"Gee, what was your first clue?" Goombella retorted. Fracktail, meanwhile, slowly turned its head to the side before bringing it down, glaring right at us.

"Beebleblip!" it said, snapping his head as if twitching. "C:/ run query identification. C:/ run insult generator. C:/ results: go away yeti-lip!"

Mario huffed and rubbed his mustache.

"CTRL ALT DEL!" Fracktail finished before roaring, flying into the sky. The three of us stood in battle positions.

"Tippi, you there?" I asked, looking at Mario. Silence was my only reply.

"…Tippi?" I called again as Mario took his hat off. "You okay?"

"Huh…?" Tippi slowly fluttered into the air. "Oh… I'm sorry, I must have dozed off there. What did I miss?"

"Before or after the creepy kid made the Robotic Dragon go crazy and attack us?" Goombella asked sarcastically. Tippi looked up at Fracktail, circling the air.

"Oh," she said. "…oh! OH! Right, information!"

"And quickly, please!" I added. "It looks like it's about to crash toward us!"

"I'll have to get in closer, try not to get hit!" Tippi said as she flew toward Fracktail.

"THANK YOU CAPTAIN OBVIOUS!" Goombella called after her. I bent my knees, preparing to jump as I waited for Fracktail to get closer… and closer… and-

"JUMP, NOW!" I shouted as I tossed the Sword of Dreams right at Fracktail's face. I rolled out of the way, along with Goombella and Mario. Fracktail was too close to the ground to turn and try to hit us, so it fell through the land, launching up a column to eventually fall on us.

"Ow, eyes!" I said, rubbing my eyes with my hand. Tippi flew back to us as we re-grouped, keeping our eyes on the ground.

"Your sword did nothing against it," Tippi informed me.

"Great," I sighed, re-summoning the blade in my hand. "What did you learn?"

"I found the Dragon is immune to most damage that you could deliver in every location on his body, save the antenna," Tippi replied. "Getting onto his body to reach the antenna, however, is another matter altogether."

"We'll figure something out," I assured her. Tippi suddenly gasped, looking at the sand.

"IT'S ABOUT TO CHARGE!" she warned us.

"…Goombella, let me hold you," I said, an idea forming in my head as I attached Thoreau to the sword, turning it into a Keyblade. She didn't hesitate as she jumped into my left arm.

"Which direction is it coming from?" I asked Tippi. She was about to answer when the sand broke behind us. Mario and I turned at the same time, seeing Fracktail charge at us like a freight train.

Mario held out his arms and vanished, I assumed he was flipping. I ran right at Fracktail, clenching my fingers around the handle of the Keyblade. As the distance between us closed, I kicked off from the ground and focused on myself, swinging the Keyblade. I managed to hold MYSELF with the Telekinetic powers of my weapon and launch myself higher, avoiding Fracktail's charge. As he rose back into the air, I touched down on his back, digging my Nightmare claw into it to make sure my arm was hooked and secured around Goombella.

"I don't know if that was the stupidest or most awesome thing you have ever done!" Goombella shouted over the sound of wind blasting in our ears.

"Hey, it WORKED, didn't it?" I replied, smiling at her. In front of us, space distorted as Mario "flipped" back into our Dimension. He was apparently not expecting the wind, so he was blasted back and almost fell off Fracktail before I held out the Keyblade to steady him. He eventually found his footing and clung to Fracktail's back.

"Now the hard part…" I muttered, looking ahead to the Antenna on Fracktail's skull. In reality, it was only about twenty yards away. To someone hanging onto the back of a flying dragon, however, it might as well have been a mile.

"Why don't you throw Mario at the antenna?" Goombella asked, making him look at her as if asking "are you insane?!"

"It doesn't work that way!" I shook my head. "Fracktail is moving forward way too fast! The best I can do with Telekinesis is keep us on the back by making us 'stay still,' and even that's because I'm trying to make us move forward at the same speed as Fracktail's going! And THAT'S not even accounting for any sudden twists or-"

"OKAY, I get it," Goombella interrupted. "Tossing is out, then."

Mario breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"What about Coron?" Goombella pointed out. "He'd be able to run forward without any problems!"

"He's still not fully recovered from his fight with O'Chunks!" I shook my head. "He might say otherwise, but he's not even strong enough to project his image in my vision. If he can't do that, I'm not going to throw him into the boiling pot like this!"

"Then WHAT do we do?" Goombella asked. I was silent for a moment before I dispelled the Keyblade, reaching my right arm forward and gripping at a bump in his back. Once I was sure I had a firm grip, I dislodged my claw and, still holding Goombella tight with my arm, pulled myself forward with my right arm, where upon I dug my claw back into the back, now a whole half a foot forward. Seeing my progression, Mario tried doing the same. He had to make much smaller climbs forward, but he was able to do it more frequently, so we both kept pace with each other.

We were doing well until Fracktail apparently caught wind of what we were trying and turned upward, flipping completely upside down. My face went red as I tried to hold onto the back as hard as I could, but my puny toothpick arms couldn't take it. My claw stayed lodged into the back, but my right arm fell off, leaving me dangling. Goombella screamed as she started to fall, but I managed to catch her just in time in my right arm, hugging her close to my torso. Mario started to fall too, but with the summoning of my Keyblade, I kept him flying at Fracktail's pace a little below us.

"…wait a second!" Goombella said, looking around. "Pax! Mario! I think I have an idea!"

"Please share!" I begged, trying my hardest not to look down.

"When Fracktail flipped upside down, his head turned upward," Goombella said. "Which makes sense, the body would flow easier that way."

"That's really cool, but I don't see how that's going to help us!" I said.

"When Fracktail turns around again, he's going to turn his head 'up,' which would be our down!" Goombella explained. "Which means for a very brief window of opportunity, his head will be directly below us! If you time it JUST right, you can drop Mario right on his Antenna!"

"PLEASE tell me you know the right timing!" I asked her. Mario's face said practically the same thing.

"I could calculate exactly where a sword would ricochet off in a chamber to hit a chandelier, I can calculate this!" Goombella pointed out.

"…alright," I nodded. "I trust you, Goombella!"

"Just throw him down on my mark!" Goombella said, watching Fracktail's head. "You'll have to toss him slightly to your right, but based on how you're holding me, you'll get it right if you just flick your arm down in what seems to be the most natural way to you!"

"Got it!" I nodded. Mario silently gripped his hammer in his hands and if I didn't know better, I'd think he was praying. Eventually, Goombella's prediction came true, and Fracktail started to turn right side-up. Her eyes were darting all over the place, her brain working overtime.

"NOW!" she suddenly barked. I flicked my arm as Goombella suggested, causing Mario to fly downward, hammer in hand. Of course, by flicking my arm like this, I dropped Goombella, who began her decent toward the ground.

CRACK!

Of course, Goombella's calculations were right on the money: Mario's hammer slammed right into the antenna, shattering it to pieces. Fracktail gave an earth shattering roar as his body broke apart into pieces, explosions blasting from all over. I released my grip on his back and fell, catching Mario with the Keyblade's powers and lining him up to fall with me. I managed to do the same with Goombella, the three of us falling together in a triangle.

"LOOK OUT!" screamed Goombella, looking straight up. I turned around in time to see a boulder sized segment of Fracktail fly straight toward us. I pointed my Keyblade straight up, slowing the segment's speed down considerably so it would match our falling speed. I turned in the air and planted my feet on the segment, digging my claw in for extra support.

"GRAB ON!" I cried out to my friends. Mario wrapped his arm around Goombella with his left arm and around my torso with his right. I turned the segment around so that we were on top. I looked over the edge to see plenty of other segments falling to the ground, essentially acting as obstacles.

"THIS IS GONNA BE A BUMPY RIDE!" I called out. I honestly couldn't tell if Goombella said "joy" or "eep" but either way I kept my focus on the segment, maneuvering it around the other segments in its decent to the ground. We had a couple of close calls, but we managed to get through in one piece.

Once we were close enough to the ground, I slowed our decent considerably, allowing the segment to gently touch down on the sand. Once we hit solid ground, I dislodged my claw from the segment and the three of us slid off, panting heavily and leaning our backs against the segment for support.

"…we're still alive," Goombella finally said, her voice shaking from the burst of adrenalin. Without warning, I grabbed her face and planted a deep kiss right on her lips. Mario coughed and looked the other direction.

"Um… uh…" Goombella blinked hard, her face burning red. "N-not that I didn't enjoy that Pax, b-but… um, what was that?"

"A 'hooray we're still alive' kiss," I smiled. "I figured the situation called for it."

"I knew there was a reason I loved you beside the good looks," Goombella said in a teasing voice, nuzzling up to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and closed my eyes, happy to have her body pressing against mine.

"BY THE DREAM GUARDIANS, ARE YOU OKAY?!"

We broke from our embrace to see Tippi fly toward us, seeming seriously worried.

"We're fine, Tippi," I waved. "A little shaken, but fine."

"Oh thank… that was…" Tippi panted.

"You weren't even IN the fight and you sound flustered!" Goombella laughed.

"I was… I was worried, alright?" Tippi panted, landing on Mario's hat.

"It's fine," I shrugged off, standing myself up. "Now all that's left to do is get to that Keyhole."

"Bzzzzzt…" We turned our heads to see the disembodied head of Fracktail laying on the ground, his eyes turned to static. "Worthiness levels satisfactory… opening path to Keyhole… this unit has suffered major malfunctions… cannot continue to oper…"

His eyes went black as nearby, the sand parted to show a stairwell leading down.

"…he was a good robot," I eventually said as Goombella and Mario stood next to me. "Too bad Dimentio had to screw him up, though."

"Agreed," Goombella nodded. Together, the three of us descended the stairwell into the Keyhole's chamber. This chamber didn't really feel as old as it did ancient, if that makes any sense. The air still smelled new, but it had this aura of power you just don't feel in new things. The walls were painted with a very pretty blue, and marble pillars lined the way to the end of the hall. At the end sat the ghostly figure of a young woman.

"Ah… Dream Keeper," she said, floating toward me. "And not just any Dream Keeper either, but the one of legend… it's so nice to finally see you with my own two eyes."

"Um… thanks?" I rubbed the back of my head. "Mind if I ask who you are?"

"I am one of the seven Dream Guardians of Old," she explained. "My name is Merlumina."

"Um… just a second," I stopped her. "I've heard that a few times, but… what is a Dream Guardian, if you don't mind me asking?"

She laughed lightly. "Your kind would hold us akin to Gods. Dream Guardians are either the creators or the protectors of a Dream… and I am one of the seven who wrote the Legend you are living now."

"Yeah, about that legend-" I started.

"I'll explain," Merlumina said calmly. "Just be patient."

She slowly paced down the hall, the three of us walking alongside her. "Thousands of years ago, after a powerful Dream Keeper helped the Dreamers recover from the disaster that was the Keyblade War, Merlin asked seven of us for a personal favor. Destroying the weapon the Forsaken Dreamers were building, Merlin took the Hearts of Worlds they collected, known as the Purity Heart, and gave it to us to fuse our minds into. His hope was that the newfound knowledge and wisdom it gave us would allow us to advice them how to rebuild the Dreamers and prevent a disaster like this from happening again."

"Apparently, it worked," Goombella noted.

"Yes, it did," Merlumina nodded. "But it had an unintended side effect… we were granted with God-like knowledge, complete omnipotence. None of us remember the event, but the Dreamers assure that we foretold a prophecy."

She stopped in front of a large mural on the wall. She pointed to each segment as she recited:

"Through the actions of the wicked, a Light will be banished.  
And, in his attempt to save the Light,  
The Darkness will create the Nothing,  
And this Nothing will reign as the Lord of Nightmares."

"…" Tippi silently slid back under Mario's hat.

"As the Nightmares raise in power,  
And the Dreamers feel overwhelmed,  
A Dream Keeper will be chosen  
To turn the tides of Fate."

"I guess that's me…" I muttered.

"As the seven Dream Guardians of Fate  
Are captured, and their power stolen by the Beast,  
The Dream Keeper will possess the Chosen One,  
And through him, rescue the Dream."

"Seven Dream… the Star Spirits!" I snapped my fingers. "My first adventure! So that would make Bowser the Beast, and Mario the Chosen One!"

"That would explain why Mario keeps being called the Chosen One," Goombella noted.

"The Angel will cause nothing but grief  
In the heart of the Dream Keeper.  
But, the action she inspires him to take  
Will prove him of his title."

"The Angel… Bombette?" I asked. "She was great, but I wouldn't exactly call her an angel."

"What action did she inspire you to take?" Goombella asked.

"…the Limit Break!" I smacked my head. "That must have been the big sign the Dreamers needed to see that I really was the Dream Keeper this prophecy is talking about!"

"The Folly of the predecessor  
Will be the Dream Keeper's final test.  
The Key will meet him at the door,  
And there, he will wield the blade."

"I have NO idea what this whole 'folly of the predecessor' business means, but the rest of it must be talking about how I got the Crystal Sword," I reasoned.

"On the other side of the door,  
The Fallen One will take the Innocence's body,  
And with it, she will slay the Dream Keeper,  
So his full power may be unlocked."

"Well, only one person managed to kill me," I shrugged. "So the Shadow Queen is the Fallen One, and Peach is the Innocence."

"In the forced union of Innocence and Beast,  
A Heart of Chaos will be born.  
With this Heart, the Keyhole will open,  
Allowing the Void to escape."

"And now we're caught up with the present," Goombella said. "We've established Peach is Innocence and Bowser is Beast, so… ew, Bowser forced Peach to marry him?"

"I guess the universe itself was so grossed out by this idea, it churned out this 'Heart of Chaos' to let the Void escape from …," I guessed.

"When the Void appears and Dreams are devoured,  
The Chosen One, the Innocence, the Beast and the Man in Green  
Will stand behind the Dream Keeper as they face  
The Nothing in the Void."

"So you, Mario, Peach, Bowser and Luigi are going to team up to take the Lord of Nightmares down," Goombella said.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who caught that whole 'Man in Green' thing," I laughed. "Hear that, Mario? Guess that means Luigi will be joining us at some point!"

Mario sighed, his body language saying something along the lines of "oh this is going to be a headache."

"The Void will be powerful, unmatched by any  
Save the power of the Purity Heart.  
These Eight shards, scattered across worlds,  
Will infuse the Dream Keeper with their might."

"That would explain why we need to travel across these worlds to collect the Pure Hearts," Goombella nodded.

"Hey, wait a minute!" I realized. "Why the heck did you break the Purity Heart apart in the first place? If you kept it all together, I would have been able to take it all in one shot and wipe out the Void quickly!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Goombella asked. "The Purity Heart is an incredibly powerful artifact, by what I've gathered. If all that power was in one place, it's all too likely there would have been another Keyblade War."

"…good point," I nodded.

"In the end, the Nothing will prove to be  
The bane of existence itself.  
The Nothing must be slain,  
Else the World, both Waking and Dreaming, fall."

"But, you know, no pressure," I added with a nervous laugh.

"This Legend of the Dream Keeper has haunted us for millennia," Merlumia said, turning back to us. "The seven Dream Guardians that foretold this prophecy took one of the eight Pure Hearts and hid them within our own Worlds, leaving the eighth to Merlin to protect himself. Now that you are here, though…"

She turned and held out her hand, focusing. Light built on the wall at the end of the hall, and in a moment, the Keyhole appeared.

"…take the Pure Heart," she finished, stepping to the side.

"With pleasure!" I said, summoning the Keyblade and swapping out Thoreau with the Kingdom Key.

"Uh… does it really matter WHAT Keyblade you use, so long as you get the Pure Heart?" Goombella asked.

"Not really," I shrugged. "I just feel like this fits better."

With that said, I jumped back and swung the Keyblade over my head, bringing it down to point right at the Keyhole. Light built up at the tip, and it shot forward into the Keyhole. There was a click, and the Keyhole vanished as a Pure Heart floated out. It touched the tip of my Keyblade, absorbing itself into it.

"Alright!" I detached the keychain, turning it back into the Sword of Dreams. "Two down, six to go!"

"We'd better return to Flipside…" Tippi said quietly.

"Of course, we need to rest and restock," I nodded in agreement, slashing the Sword of Dreams through the air. A doorway of light appeared, leading back to Merlin's world.

"Good luck, Dream Keeper…" Merlumia waved. "All worlds are resting on your shoulders."

"…again: No pressure," I gulped, stepping through the doorway with my friends, heading back to Flipside for some much needed R&R.


	7. Chapter 7: Fallen Innocence

_**Chapter 7: Fallen Innocence**_

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

Lines drew out buildings and towers, color coming afterward to "build" Flipside around us.

"Ah, there they are," Merlin said, walking toward us with Nozan by his side. "What did I tell you? It wouldn't take them six hours!"

"Wait, hang on a second," I said, holding out my hands. "Exactly how long were we gone?"

"Well, time is relative to different Dreams, buuuuut…" Merlin pulled out a pocket watch and clicked it open. "By Dreamer Standard Time, it took you roughly three hours and twenty nine minutes."

"…wow," I blinked. "Is that, like, a new record or something?"

"We don't keep records on-" started Nozan.

"Sure is!" Merlin interrupted. "You guys did GREAT out there!"

"Thanks!" I grinned.

"Wait, were you guys watching us?" Goombella asked.

"Now what kind of all powerful organization would we be if we didn't?" Merlin retorted, walking back to his house. "Come hither, we've got some debriefing to do."

* * *

"So this computer lets you keep tabs on wherever I am?" I asked. We were on the second floor of Merlin's house, and in the center of it was a large, complex computer with multiple screens. On the center screen showed us in this exact room, myself being the focus. All the other screens showed different information about me, like my current Keychains, my pulse rate, Coron's status of health…

"I can't tell if this is fascinating or creepy," Goombella spoke my own thoughts.

"A little bit of both," Merlin admitted. "Still, this allowed us to keep tabs on you during your last adventure. Nozan here came up with the idea and built it himself!"

"You're giving me far too much credit, sir," Nozan said modestly. "I simply re-configured the communication system we commonly use with our Elite Agents into an observation system via altering the observation posts to take in the light waves reflected off the surfaces of the Dreams. After that, it was child's play to lock onto the Dream Keeper's Soul."

"Er, Pax," I corrected him. "That would be Pax's Soul."

"Toe-may-toes, tuh-mah-toes," Nozan shrugged off. "Now back to the matter at hand, we would like to discuss the Nobodies you encountered."

"We encountered Nobodies?" I asked.

"…oh, right!" Goombella realized. "Remember, Coron taunted O'Chunks about him not having a Soul?"

"Right!" I smacked my head. "So O'Chunks is a Nobody… I guess Dimentio was, too?"

"The problem is, though, we were only aware of ONE Nobody in the ranks of the Nightmares," Merlin piped in. "The Lord of Nightmares himself. We were hoping Coron might be able to tell us more about these others."

"And why he never mentioned them before," Nozan followed up, eyeing my claw in suspicion.

"I'll see if he's up for talking," I said. "Hey, Coron? You feeling alright?"

**Yeah, MUCH better**, Coron replied. He couldn't form an image of himself in my mind's eye, but I could hear his voice in my head. **I should be ready for action in about an hour.**

"Oh, no need," I replied. "We already got the Pure Heart."

**Seriously?** Coron asked. **Damn, you work fast.**

"I know, we even beat the record!"

**Wait, the Dreamers hold records for this sort of thing?**

"Apparently!"

Merlin politely clearing his throat brought my attention back to the matter at hand.

"Hey, we have a couple of questions for you about the Nobodies," I told Coron. "Think you could enlighten us?"

**Right, the New Organization…** Coron muttered. **I'll tell you as much as I can, yeah. I think I can hitch a ride on your senses, just a second…**

"Alri-wait, what did you-" I started, but I was cut off as I felt a cold presence move around my eyes and ears. I had to blink a few times to adjust.

"Okay, THAT was weird…" I said, shaking my head. "What did you just do?"

**I adjusted myself so I can see what you see and hear what you hear**, Coron answered. **I can hear you guys talk, all you have to do is relay my messages to them.**

"Oh, alright!" I nodded. I turned back to Nozan and Merlin. "He's all ears, guys."

"First things first," Nozan said, glaring. "Why didn't you mention these Nobodies earlier?"

**I figured you already knew about them**, Coron said simply. **That, and before now all the Nobodies worked behind the scenes rather than going out into battle**.

I relayed the message to everyone.

"Then why are they coming into the forefront now?" Nozan asked.

**How the hell am I supposed to know?** Coron retorted in irritation.

"He hasn't the faintest," I translated.

"Fine then, tell us everything you DO know about the Nobodies," Nozan crossed his arms.

**I want to punch you.**

"He requests you say please."

"What?" Nozan asked. "Are you mad?"

"Well, that's an… accurate choice of words," I replied, rubbing the back of my head sheepishly. "Basically, he doesn't like your attitude."

Merlin had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing too loud. Nozan simply glared at my claw. "…fine. _Please_ tell us what you know about Nobodies, Coron."

**Much better. Now then, last I checked there were four members. The Lord of Nightmares, you already know him. His second-in-command is Tashanax, codename Nastasia.**

"Wait," I said after relaying the message. "Nobodies have codenames?"

**Before you ask, no, I have NO idea why they do.**

"So Tashanax?" Merlin encouraged after I relayed Coron's message.

**Right. You probably already know this, but when a Nobody is created, the most powerful abilities they had in life are magnified and manifested into supernatural powers. Hers was apparently manipulation, because she can control almost anybody like a puppet. Well, anybody with a Soul, at least. Domination over empty shells is the Lord of Nightmares' forte.**

"Wait, so they have an agent who has the power of Mind Control?" Goombella asked. "Why the heck don't they just use her more often?"

**Two reasons. One, she can only dominate one person at a time, so she wouldn't be useful in an actual battle with hundreds of people swarming you all over the place. Secondly, she is NOT a fighter. She generally lets someone else weaken someone first before she sweeps in to dominate them.**

"Well… at least that means we won't have to worry about-" started Goombella.

"Don't finish that sentence," I warned, knocking on the nearby wall. "We have had WAY too much bad luck the last hundred or so times we tempted Fate like that, let's not give her any more ammunition."

"Alright, fair point," Goombella admitted.

"So the Lord of Nightmares and Tashanax makes two," Nozan brought us back to the subject at hand. "And you said there were four members."

**Right, I'm getting to that. The third one, the Nobody I'm most familiar with, is Rixamim, codename Mimi. Her most prominent special ability is the ability to polymorph, but the power that makes her the most useful is the ability to essentially drill small holes through even the most protected of Dreams, allowing a few Nightmare agents to go through. She's the reason I was able to escape into Mario's world and chase after Pax. You might remember her as the Dragon you fought back in your first adventure.**

"That thing was a Nobody?" I asked after relaying the message. "Um… wow. I managed to beat down a Nobody before I even had the Sword of Dreams."

**Well, she WAS going easy on you…**

"Please don't ruin the moment," I requested. Coron laughed.

**Right. Well finally, we have O'Chunks. I didn't really see him all that often, so I never learned his real name. He was in charge of training the Nightmare soldiers, but I finished all my training before he even lost his Soul. Based on his fighting, I'd say his special ability is to make the Earth move to his will.**

"What about Dimentio?" Goombella asked.

**Who?**

"Coron doesn't know Dimentio," I translated. "He must have joined the… what did you call it?"

**The New Organization,** Coron replied. **The Lord of Nightmares was inspired by the legends of the original Organization XIII, so he began developing his own army of Nobodies. He made sure to learn from the mistakes of Organization XIII, though, and kept the New Organization small so as to prevent any rebellions.**

"Right," I nodded after relaying this message. "So Dimentio joined the New Organization within the last six months."

"You'd better be especially careful," Merlin said to all of us. "If the New Organization is getting as bold as to send its members after you now, they might try just about anything. These Nobodies are vastly unpredictable."

His serious tone was ruined by the sudden appearance of his infectious grin. "But, what am I saying? I have complete faith you'll be able to conquer anything they have to throw at you!"

"Oh stop, you're making me blush," I replied. "Alright, next order on the list… could you point us in the direction of the nearest restaurant and Inn?"

"Wha… are you insane?!" Nozan cried out, looking appalled. "The Void is constantly spreading! You need to hurry to the next World before-"

"Nozan, just because you seem to never need rest doesn't mean _everyone_ can survive working at their fullest 24/7," Merlin interrupted. "You saw them fight Fracktail yourself. Frankly, I think they NEED this rest. The Inn is just down the street to your left when you leave my house, and the restaurant is down on the second floor. You can reach it by the elevator near the store."

"Got it, thanks!" I waved, leaving the house with Goombella and Mario. "Well Goombella, looks like we owe you some stew."

"Glad to see you're not trying to weasel out of your bet!" laughed Goombella as Mario tried to sneak away.

"Oh no you don't, buddy!" I grabbed Mario by the collar of his shirt. "You lost the bet just as much as I did, you're helping me pay!"

Mario snapped his fingers, as if silently saying "oh darn." Goombella and I laughed as we headed toward the restaurant.

* * *

_**Enter Dimentio:**_

* * *

I was leaning against a pillar back in the Void, looking into the smooth, black sphere I created just a little while ago, watching scenes from the Dream Keeper's fight against Fracktail play out inside of it.

_He's a bold fighter_, I thought. _And his significant other is very intelligent… together, they make a deadly team. This Chosen One, on the other hand… he's strong, but I doubt he'll be much trouble._

"Heya Dimentio!"

The overly bubbly voice of Mimi called my attention to her presence before I took the effort to raise my eyes to see her. She was back in her normal form, though she was wearing a maid's outfit.

"Dare I ask?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You think it's cute?" Mimi giggled, twirling around and letting the skirt flow. I chose to ignore her as I turned my eyes back to the sphere.

"C'mon," she said in a playful tone. "You know you think I'm cute!"

"A moment ago you asked if the outfit itself was cute," I reminded her. "Besides, we're Nobodies. How could any of us understand the concept of attraction?"

"Only your Soul is gone," Mimi said in a teasing voice as she leaned her head against my shoulder. "The Libido stays perfectly in place!"

"…"

I took a step away, letting her fall to the ground with an "Eep!"

"You're… what, twelve?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"THIRTEEN, thank you very much!" Mimi stuck her tongue out at me as she stood up, dusting her dress off. "Besides, I'm not much younger than you are!"

"You have no idea how old I am," I retorted, crossing my arms.

"No, but I COULD know if you took your mask off!" Mimi pouted. "Come on, stop being such a meanie-head!"

"How about I stop being a 'meanie-head' when you stop being annoying?" I asked in irritation. Mimi was about to make a retort when we noticed Count Bleck and Nastasia walking into the room.

"Count," I bowed. "Nastasia."

"Dimentio," Nastasia nodded her head, keeping her eyes on me.

"Count Bleeeeeck!" Mimi ran up to the Count and hugged him. "Dimentio's being a meanie-head!"

"There there, Mimi," the Count patted her back. "Would a mission make you feel better?"

"Ooh, a mission?" Mimi's eyes lit up. "What do you need me to do?"

"We've found the probable second location the Dream Keeper will reach in his journey," Nastasia piped in, adjusting her glasses.

"And you do want to get some revenge against him, don't you?" Count Bleck asked.

"Of course I do!" Mimi nodded eagerly. "I want to rip his head off his shoulders and shove it right up his butt!"

"Lovely visual there, Mimi," I rolled my eyes.

"Aw, thanksies!" Mimi replied, not getting the sarcasm in my voice.

"In that case, hold still…" Count Bleck gently held Mimi's face in his hands. "I have a gift for you."

His arms glowed a deep purple, filling Mimi with this same energy. She closed her eyes and shuddered under his grip for a few moments until he let go.

"I have filled your essence with the power of the Void," the Count said. "Once you enter your true form, you will become completely invulnerable."

"…SQUEEEEEE!" Mimi practically tackled the Count in a hug. "OH THANK YOU SO SO SOOOOOO MUCH COUNT-Y! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!"

She pulled away and skipped off, ripping a hole through reality to skip through.

"Right…" Count Bleck cleared his throat, patting his suit down.

"You need me to keep an eye on her, too?" I asked.

"Let her have her fun for a while," the Count waved his hand dismissively. "My little 'gift' doubles as essentially a spying device. I'll be keeping an eye on her, I'll let you know when you need to save her from the Dream Keeper."

The Count started to walk away, but paused and turned to me. "Oh, and Dimentio? Excellent job keeping O'Chunks alive, he barely has a scratch on him."

"Thank the Darkness, not me," I replied with a smirk.

"Darkness is just a force, you are the medium that controls it," the Count pointed out.

"Darkness is stronger than you may think," I said. The Count, in reply, shrugged.

"Either way, I'm going to congratulate you," he said, walking off. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do. Good day."

I bowed as he walked off, leaving Nastasia and me alone.

"Don't you have work to do, too?" I asked, leaning back against the wall and turning my gaze to the sphere.

"As a matter of fact, I do," Nastasia replied, her voice slow and calculating. "I'm off to stop the few souls left resisting the Void's power."

"Does that include the Princess and the man in green?" I countered, looking straight at her and grinning under my mask.

"…it does," she said carefully. "It would be a… _shame_ to the Organization if either of them got away."

"Indeed it would," I nodded. "Then again, you don't really know what _I_ would define as a 'shame'."

We stared at each other in silence. This was a common occurrence between the two of us, a never ending chess match. Only instead of a chess board, we used the Organization.

"I'll be leaving now," Nastasia said, turning around.

"What makes you so sure I'll sweep in and save the day?" I asked as she began to walk, stabbing right to the core of the matter. She froze in place, apparently thinking.

"I have backup plans," I sneered. "Can you say the same, Tashanax?"

Her fists clenched at her sides.

"Food for thought," I shrugged, pocketing the sphere. "I'm late for an appointment. I'll leave it to you to decide what that appointment may be."

I walked off, leaving the woman to contemplate things further. Playing with her mind was just way too much fun sometimes.

* * *

_**Enter Peach:**_

* * *

"Oh… my head…"

My eyes slowly opened as I woke up in an unfamiliar location. I sat up, trying to remember what happened last. I was in the castle… then some man in a white suit showed up, saying something about a wedding… there was this strange location of black and purple, and this woman… she spoke to me, but I couldn't remember what she said. Everything after that was just a blank, and…

"AAAIIEEE!" I screamed, bending over and hugging my torso. I can't even remember why I screamed… I think I was in pain? I was still in the strange location… I think. There were squares, but they were floating. Purple and black were all around, and strange… unnatural shapes. They were pressing into me… the whole world was pressing into me. An intense sound nearly deafened me, and it took some time for me to realize it was the sound of my own heartbeat.

"What… what is this…" I gasped, trying to stand up. A wave of nausea washed over me as I fell back to the ground, curling into fetal position. This world… this whole place, it felt like it was trying to tear my very essence apart. I felt vulnerable, completely defenseless against the waves of assault against my very being. My mind and heart felt fractured, like they were ready to shatter any second… And it was just getting worse by the minute.

I was about to slip back into unconsciousness just to escape these horrors when a voice called out to me. Using every ounce of effort within me, I slowly sat up and blinked to the source of the voice. A Koopa and a Hammer Bro ran up to me. I could tell they were shouting, but their voices seemed muffled to my ears. They grabbed my arms and helped me to my feet, and I offered absolutely no resistance.

"…incess!" the muffled voice was finally coming into focus as the Hammer Bro grabbed my face in his hands. "Princess Peach! You gotta stay awake or this place will destroy you!"

"Wha…" I blinked hard, then bent over as another wave of pain flashed through my being, shaking me to the very core.

"Look, I know it hurts!" the Hammer Bro grabbed my shoulders to keep me from curling in fetal position again. "But you have to stay focused!"

He grabbed my face and made me look him in the eyes. "Breathe with me. Okay? Just breathe with me, Princess."

He took slow, steady breaths through his mouth. I focused on only his breathing as I synchronized my breaths with his. A minute later, my heart rate dropped, and I was soon standing straight up again.

"Thank you…" I breathed.

"Don't thank me yet, ma'am," the Hammer Bro shook his head. "We still need to get you outta here."

"Where IS here?" I asked, looking around at the area around me. I regretted it a minute later when the alien geometry started pressing down on me and I had to close my eyes to prevent my mind from shattering.

"Easy now…" the Hammer Bro said gently, keeping a firm hold on me. "I really don't know where we are, all I know is that it tears at us the longer we stay here."

"W… we've been l-looking for an escape… for the… past few hours…" the Koopa struggled.

"Don't strain yourself, Karl," the Hammer Bro said. "I need you to conserve your energy, alright?"

"I… it…" Karl groaned, gripping himself. "It's hard to think… things are pressing on me, all over the place… m-my Soul, Anderson! It's trying to rip my Soul!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" the Hammer Bro-Anderson-barked, gripping Karl's shoulders. "You're stronger than this, Karl! You can fight it!"

"I don't know how long I CAN, Anderson!" Karl snapped back. Tears were welling in his eyes. "I've been fighting, but… I'm not… I'm not as strong as you…"

"Cut the crap, that's an order!" Anderson said. "You lasted this long, Karl. That's more than can be said for a lot of other people. We've almost reached the end, I can feel it. You just need to hold strong for a little while longer."

"I… o-okay," Karl nodded nervously. "I'm sorry."

Anderson sighed, patting his shoulder. "I know it's tough, but we have to pull through."

He turned back to me. "Look, I know you probably don't trust us, seeing as we're minions of Bowser and all, but we all have to work together if we hope of getting out of here alive."

"Of course," I nodded. "You helped me get my bearings back together, I owe you at least my trust."

Anderson smiled. "Alright. Come on, I think I have a good idea where the exit may be."

"Right," I nodded, stepping forward. The world around me seemed to tilt as I lost balance. Anderson and Karl managed to catch me before I fell.

"The first steps are always the worse," Anderson said encouragingly. "Just keep at it, you should get used to it after a little bit."

I nodded, taking slow breaths as I took careful, deliberate steps. Anderson and Karl stayed at my side, ready to catch me if I fell, but after a minute or so I was balanced enough to not need their help.

"Can you at least tell me what happened?" I asked as we walked through the dark halls of this alien location.

"Oh man, it was… it was INSANE," Karl shook his head. "We were gathered in Bowser's Castle, planning an attack on the Mushroom Kingdom-no offence, Princess."

"None taken."

"Right. Well, out of the blue, this creepy man in a white suit showed up and offered Bowser your hand in marriage."

"He did WHAT?!" I stopped in my tracks. "How did… WHY did…"

"I thought it was fishy too, but you were right there, completely willing to marry him," Anderson said. "You looked… off, though. Like, something just wasn't right…"

"Of COURSE something wasn't right, I was marrying Bowser!" I stomped my foot. "…but why don't I remember it?"

"Maybe it was that lady?" Karl suggested.

"Lady?" I blinked. "What… wait. About a head shorter than me, wears her hair in a bun, wears glasses?"

"That's the one," Anderson snapped his fingers. "You've seen her?"

"I… think…" I pressed my fingers against my temples and closed my eyes. "I remember… she was talking to me for a long time. Trying to convince me of something. The longer we talked, the more I realized she was right, but… I don't even remember what we were talking about, or anything that happened after that."

"Yeah… no doubt about it, that's her…" Karl shivered.

"That woman patrols this place," Anderson told me. "I think she uses the affect this place has on us against us. She pushes on someone's mind, tells them things that they eventually accept as truth. It's… how we lost a good portion of our men."

"That's horrible!" I cried, covering my mouth.

"There's nothing we can do about them now, though," Anderson shook his head. "The best we can do is get out of here before she gets to us and think of a plan of action."

"What about the rest of you?" I asked as we started walking again. "You said this woman got most of them."

"Everyone else… they snapped," Anderson shuddered. "They-"

"PLEASE."

We both looked at Karl, whose face was white as a ghost's.

"Please, just… don't… don't make me remember…" he shivered, looking at his feet as he walked.

"…I'm sorry about your brother," Anderson said softly.

"You already said that," Karl shook his head. "I just… don't want to think about it, alright?"

"Okay," Anderson nodded, looking ahead. "Come on, if what I overheard was correct, there should be an exit this way."

We walked in silence for half an hour after that. We had to stop occasionally for one of us to bend over in pain, but we would comfort that person and get them back to walking again. Anderson only had one such experience the entire time, but he was able to force himself back to his feet through sheer willpower.

We eventually came to a fork in the "road." Anderson looked down both ways to make sure it was safe.

"Alright," he said to us. "Down this way is the exit."

"We THINK," Karl reminded us.

"No, it HAS to be there," Anderson said stubbornly. "I didn't fight this long and lose this many men to hit a dead end. We're going to go through and-"

"HALT!"

We whirled to the other hall, where a small platoon of Koopas was marching toward us. What got me the most were their eyes: They looked completely empty. Not glazed over, but… gone.

"Karl, take the Princess and get her out of here!" Anderson barked, stepping forward and pulling out his hammer.

"B-but Anderson-"

"That's an ORDER, soldier!" Anderson barked as he threw a hammer at the Koopas, knocking them onto their backs.

"Y-yes sir!" Karl saluted before taking my hand. "Come on, we have to get out of here!"

"Karl!" Anderson smiled sadly at us. "…take care of her. I'll see you both soon!"

Karl nodded before leading me down the hall. We could hear screaming and the sound of battle behind us before things went eerily quiet. I couldn't tell if this was because something happened to Anderson or if we were getting deeper into this noise stealing Void.

I like to think it's the later.

"AUGH!" Karl gripped his chest and fell to his knees out of nowhere. I stopped short, running back to grab his arm.

"Come on!" I said. "Just a little further!"

"It… no, Princess…" he shook his head. "It's too late for me… everyone… Stars, they're gone. Everyone's gone."

His tears fell to the ground as he tried to curl into a ball. "Just leave me here… you still have a chance…"

"…no," I shook my head, taking his arm by force and wrapping it around my shoulders, practically dragging him down the hall.

"Wh… what are you doing?" Karl asked.

"You two helped me when I needed it," I told him. "It's time I returned the favor."

"Princess…" Karl started.

"Please," I smiled at him. "Call me Peach."

"…" Karl returned the smile, but both of our smiles faltered when I started screaming, the world crushing down on me. It felt like it was trying to rip my heart right out of my body, I could feel my mind crack apart, I didn't think I could last this much longer under this assault…

"PEACH!" Karl brought me back, looking at me with concern in his eyes. I didn't remember falling, but he was holding me like he stopped me from collapsing.

"I know… I felt…" I panted. Karl shook his head, not wanting me to continue.

"We'll carry each other," he offered, keeping his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I slowly nodded and did the same to him with my arm, and we supported each other down the hall.

I don't know how we survived the constant onslaughts. The world didn't just come and go, it was constantly pushing on us now. I think the only reason we managed to keep going was through sheer will power. I don't know how long we were walking. It could have been ten minutes, it could have been ten hours. All I know is that we eventually reached some sort of bridge overlooking a bottomless pit. I forced myself not to look down. We started to go across, but the world seemed to want us to stay: The Purple and Black squares closed in on the bridge, and we could do was watch helplessly as the bridge faded away in front of us.

"Dead end…" Karl whispered, shaking his head. "It's a dead end… no escape…"

"No… I refuse to believe it!" I clenched my jaw, forcing myself not to cringe in pain from the world. "There has to be a way out!"

"Oh no," a calm voice said behind us. "I'm afraid your friend was right. This is your dead end."

We whirled around to face the woman, a small army of blank-eyed Koopas behind her.

"Wh…" I panted, forcing myself to stand strong. "Who ARE you, anyway?!"

"Who I am is of no concern," she said casually, adjusting the glasses on her face. I could feel a fog settle in around my mind, but I refused to let myself wear down. "What does concern me, though, is that you're still running around with that nasty will of yours. Surrender now, both of you, and serve the Lord of Nightmares."

"Go to the Underwhere," Karl spat, glaring right at her.

"Yeah, see, that attitude won't be tolerated," the woman replied. "I think you'll find life much easier once you join us, though. You're in a lot of pain, we can take it away."

"Take the… pain… nyeh…" Karl's eyes started to fog.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted, holding Karl defensively.

"I see you're not going to make this easy for me…" the woman sighed. "Right. Minions, why don't you just grab them and-"

A strange sound came from behind us. We turned our heads to see a hole made of darkness rip open in the air behind us.

"Stop them!" the woman shouted. The Koopas ran forward, ready to attack.

"I'll hold them off, you go!" Karl shoved me back, holding out his arms defensively. I looked at the portal, then back at him. His eyes were shut, ready to take the hit.

"NO!" I screamed, hooking my arms under Karl's before flinging him around, letting the momentum throw us both into the hole. It closed behind us, leaving us falling through a corridor of Darkness.

On one hand, I didn't feel like my very essence was being ripped apart… but on the other hand, I felt like something dark and alien was creeping into me, weighing my heart down with a sick, powerful presence. I hugged Karl close to my chest as I closed my eyes, breathing deeply to try and combat the Darkness. I was just so weak though… I couldn't fight it. I fell unconscious, falling through the Darkness.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

"…really?" I asked the image of Coron. "Spiced Curry?"

**What's wrong with that?** Coron asked.

"Nothing I guess, just… not what I expected to be your favorite dish," I shrugged.

The two of us were sitting on the roof of the Inn, watching the stars in the sky and talking.

**This feels strange,** Coron said out of the blue.

"What does?" I asked.

**This whole… talking thing,** Coron waved his hand. **I haven't had a conversation like this in… well, ever.**

"Get used to it, I've got a lot on my mind," I laughed, leaning back.

"How did I know you were going to be here?"

**Girlfriend at seven o-clock,** Coron pointed as I turned around, seeing Goombella walk up next to me.

"I dunno, I like roofs?" I shrugged, laying my head back down. "My house's roof is made of tin, so I never get to do this at home."

"You do realize you're going to regret this in the morning, right?" Goombella asked as she lay down next to me. "Sleep deprivation doesn't mix well with adventure."

"Yeah, well… I was just in the mood to do this," I shrugged. "Don't judge."

"When have I ever judged you?" Goombella asked with a snicker.

"…well-"

"Oh shut up!"

We shared a laugh.

"The stars sure are beautiful tonight…" Goombella breathed, cuddling up next to me. "You know, minus that ugly Void."

"Yeah… oh!" I sat up, summoning the Sword of Dreams. "That reminds me, I gotta show you this neat trick I learned!"

I focused energy into the sword and sliced it upward. The sky seemed to part and open up, revealing an endless sea of colors. Floating in this sea were countless spheres, each one holding the faint outline of an entire world in them. The only disturbance to this gorgeous sight was the Void sitting in the middle of the sky.

"Wow…" Goombella's voice was barely a whisper as her eyes grew, taking this all in.

"I thought you'd like it," I smiled, wrapping an arm around her. "All of these Dreams out there, floating along without a care in the world…"

"When we're done saving the world…" Goombella said, looking at me. "And, you know, AFTER I explain to my folks where I disappeared to… you think we could explore them? Just you and me?"

"Of course!" I grinned. "Once we beat the Lord of Nightmares, the Dream World will be safe for us to do whatever the heck we want!"

"Mm…" She buried her face in my torso. "I'm just… this is all so much to take in. I know we're on a do-or-die quest here, but… I've never been so happy. We're exploring different Worlds, and you're here with me…"

I leaned down and brushed aside her blonde hair, gently kissing her forehead. "It's a dream come true for me, too… no pun intended."

"You HAD to do it, didn't you?" Goombella smirked, but that blush lighting up on her cheeks let me know I did something right.

Out of nowhere, my claw started to tingle as Coron's head snapped up.

**Look up!** He said. I snapped my head to the sky, seeing a Dark Portal form.

"What's wro…" started Goombella, turning her head to see the portal too. "Oh crap."

From the portal fell two people. I couldn't really make out details, just pink and green. The pink was flowing… yellow hair…

"That's Peach!" I said, standing up and running forward. "Jesus… Shift!"

* * *

_**Enter Coron:**_

* * *

I dropped to all fours as the black flames subsided, dashing like mad toward the falling figures. I jumped once I hit the edge of the roof, flying toward their falling forms. It was a close shot, but I managed to stretch my arms and grab them before turning myself into a ball around them, absorbing the impact of the shock. Once we were on solid ground, I unwrapped myself and spread the two people on the ground.

One of them was a Koopa, his eyes barely open as he was shivering uncontrollably. The other was a young woman in a pink dress and blonde hair, completely unconscious. I moved my hands over them to feel their auras.

"Dammit, the Darkness has gotten to them," I cursed, gently placing my hands on them.

_Vivian warned me about that,_ Pax remembered. _I just thought falling through a Dark Portal unprepared caused you pain, though?_

"Well it sure didn't tickle them now, did it?" I retorted. "Short bursts at full strength, yes, it can sting. Long falls when you're feeling weak, which I'm gathering happened to these two, can sap your Soul and possibly corrupt you!"

_What happens when you're corrupted?_ Pax gulped. I chose not to answer him as I pressed my hands INTO their bodies, closing my eyes and focusing. They both convulsed as I spread my mind into their Souls, drawing out all the excess Darkness I could.

"…there," I breathed, pulling my hands out. "They still need attention, but they're better off than they were a minute ago."

_Maybe Merlin can help?_ Pax suggested.

"Good idea," I nodded, slinging them over my shoulders as I stood up.

"HEY!" Goombella called from the roof. "WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE?!"

"THESE GUYS ARE HURT, I'M TAKING THEM TO MERLIN!" I called back.

_Tell her to get Mario and meet us there,_ Pax encouraged.

"What? Why?"

_That's his lady, he'll want to see!_

"Oh fine. GET MARIO AND MEET US AT MERLIN'S!"

"GOT IT!" Goombella shouted before running back inside. I turned around and made a dash to Merlin's house, hoping he wouldn't be too hard to wake up.

* * *

_**Enter Dimentio:**_

* * *

I smirked to myself as I watched the Nightmare carry off the two, hidden in the folds of Darkness.

"And thus another hero is added to the party…" I muttered to myself as I tossed the sphere in my hand. The prophecy was unfolding quite well. The woman seemed strong, but I could handle her without much effort. The Koopa? Well… they were to face Mimi tomorrow. I would see what he's capable of then.

I turned around and let the Darkness engulf me, taking me back to the Void.


	8. Chapter 8: Three Become Five

_**Chapter 8: Three Become Five**_

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

"Hey, Pax?" Merlin shook my shoulder gently, waking me up.

"Hm?" I slowly blinked awake, stretching my arms. "Ah… sorry, I must have dozed off there. What time is it?"

"Breakfast." Merlin offered a cup of coffee.

"Thanks, but I don't drink coffee," I declined, standing up and stretching. "Too bitter for my taste."

"Not if you drown it in sugar and flavoring," Merlin stated as he took a sip out of the cup. "But to each their own, I suppose."

"Yeah… hey, is Peach alright?" I asked as Merlin led me to another room in his house.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Merlin offered as he pushed a door open, revealing a Kitchen. A large table sat in the center, full of food, and sitting around the table eating were Goombella, Mario, Peach and the Koopa. Tippi was resting on the window sill nearby, facing the table.

"Look who finally decided to join us!" Goombella turned her head to me. "Morning, sleepyhead."

"Morning," I waved, taking an empty seat and pulling a plate of waffles closer. I turned to Peach and the Koopa. "You two okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Peach nodded. Mario was sitting next to her, looking absolutely relieved that she was safe.

"Better than I thought I would," the Koopa laughed nervously, leaning his head against his hand. "I feel like I just woke up from a horrible Nightmare."

"Oh, let me introduce my friend," Peach said, putting a gloved hand on the Koopa's shoulder. "This is Karl. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here right now."

"Oh, y-you're giving me too much credit," Karl said nervously. "Really, if it weren't for Anderson, we'd BOTH be toast."

"So… wait," I held out my hands. "If you don't mind me asking, what DID happen to you?"

Peach and Karl looked at each other, then back to us.

"Well…" Karl started, pressing his hands together. "It started when this man approached Bowser…"

* * *

"…so I dragged him through the Portal with me," Peach finished. Merlin was sitting at the table with us, having joined partway through the tale, and Nozan was leaning against a wall, taking notes. "The Darkness pressed down on me, and I just passed out. When I finally came too, we were in this house, and Merlin here explained the situation to us."

"Wow," I blinked. "Karl, I'm… well, sorry about-"

"I'm fine," Karl interrupted, holding up a hand to stop me. "Really, just… I'm fine."

"Well… alright," I nodded. "At the very least, we know WHY the Pure Hearts are so important."

"Without them, the Void would rend our Souls apart," Goombella continued.

"…would you repeat the description of the man?"

This was the first time Tippi had spoken in a while. We all turned our heads to her.

"Uh… kind of a dark purple skin," described Karl. "Yellow eyes. White top hat and matching cloak."

"I thought it was a suit?" Peach asked.

"Both, maybe?" Karl shrugged. "Nothing else in that world made any sense, why should his clothes?"

"Interesting leap of logic," Goombella noted as Tippi withdrew herself from the room. Merlin's eyes followed her out, concern etched on his brow.

"Excuse me," he said politely, standing up. "Don't worry about the dishes, I'll take them up later."

He quickly left the room after Tippi.

"Um… I'm sorry, but who was the butterfly?" Peach asked.

"Her name's Tippi," I said, watching the door in concern. "She's a Pixl that's supposed to act as our guide through the Worlds, but… she's been kind of reclusive ever since we entered the Dreamer Ruins. Did what I say really affect her THAT much?"

"I don't think it's that," Goombella said reassuringly.

"Then what?" I asked.

"I'm not her, I really couldn't say," Goombella answered. "I have some thoughts, but only she could really tell us what's wrong."

"…I'm going to go talk to her," I said, standing up. "You guys better get ready to head over to the next World."

"Uh, Pax-" started Goombella, but I was already out of the room.

"Right," she sighed, standing up. "Come on Mario. Nozan, you don't mind cleaning up, do you?"

"Wait, what?" Nozan looked up from his notes.

"Taking that as a yes!" Goombella said quickly, leaving the kitchen with Mario.

"Uh… why don't we help them prepare?" Karl asked, looking at the mess we left on the table.

"Now wait a minute-" started Nozan.

"Great idea, let's!" Peach said as she stood, and the two of them quickly left the room, leaving Nozan alone with the huge mess.

"…" Nozan sighed, putting his notes away as he started gathering dishes.

* * *

_**Enter Tippi:**_

* * *

Merlin knocked at the open door of the room I was hiding in.

"Tippi?" he asked, stepping in. I really didn't want to see anyone, but… well, it was Merlin. I couldn't just ignore him.

"I'm here," I said, flying up to his face. He looked at me with concern.

"You're not acting like yourself," he said, offering a hand for me to rest on. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm… I'm sorry, Merlin," I said, landing on his index finger and flapping my wings slowly. "I won't let this get in the way of my performance on the mission."

"I didn't ask about that," Merlin said stubbornly. "I asked if you were okay."

"…" I looked down, not wanting to speak the strange thoughts that plagued my mind.

"Tippi, you're like a daughter to me," Merlin said gently. "You know that, right? You can tell me anything."

"I know, Merlin," I sighed. I tried to straighten my jumbled and confused thoughts: Who was the Lord of Nightmares? Why did he sound so… familiar? I could practically close my eyes and see him, yet I swear I never saw him before in my life… or did I?

"You… said you found my essence floating through the Dream World?" I asked. Merlin nodded.

"I remember that day well…" he closed his eyes, reminiscing in the past. "I was examining the passing Dreams from my house when I found your essence. I took you in and used my magic to build your Soul into a Pixl."

"But… I wasn't a Soul before," I said. "I was just… essence. You build my Soul, you made-"

"I did not make you into who you are," Merlin interrupted. "YOU made you who you are. You are your own person, Tippi."

"But I couldn't form even a coherent thought before you turned me into a Pixl," I retorted. "So I wouldn't have any memories from that time… would I?"

"I couldn't tell you," Merlin said apologetically. "I have no idea who or what you might have been before you became an essence, if you even were something before."

"I know…" I sighed, flying off his hand. "I never should have said anything in the first place."

I started to fly away, but Merlin stopped me by placing his hand in my path.

"Are you remembering things?" he asked.

"I… I don't know," I said, slowly turning back to him. He put his hand down, keeping his concerned eyes on me.

"Talk to me like I'm a child," he said. "Explain as best as you can."

I thought for a minute, looking down at the floor. "It's like… have you ever had a Dream you couldn't quite remember when you woke up? It seemed clear as day while you're asleep, and you remember you dreamt of SOMETHING, but you just can't remember any details."

"I know the feeling you're talking about," Merlin nodded, waiting for me to continue.

"I just… I feel like that while I'm awake," I said. "I… I keep zoning out. Things are playing in my head, but I don't know what it is that I'm thinking."

A terrifying thought occurred to me as I shook in the air. "Am… am I breaking down? Am I too unstable, and these are signs that I'm falling apart?!"

"Tippi, please, take a moment to breathe," Merlin said calmly. "Now… think for a moment. If you were falling apart, wouldn't it make more sense you'd be LOSING memories, rather than gaining them?"

I took a few deep breaths, contemplating what Merlin said. "Well… I suppose, but… you never know…"

"I understand," Merlin said softly. "I get that you're concerned. I HATE to see you like this. I want to do anything I can to make you feel better, but I can't give you the knowledge you seek. However… I've been having Nozan work on something since you told me your desire to go on this quest."

As he said this, he was digging through his pockets. He eventually pulled out a blue rectangular device, about an inch thick and long enough to fit easily in his palm.

"What is it?" I asked. Merlin flipped the device open, revealing a screen inside over a few buttons and dials.

"It's a device for communication," Merlin explained. "It's designed to synch up with the computer we use to observe Pax, so even if you're stuck in a world for long periods of time, you can always talk to me if you need anything."

"Um…" I blinked at the gift Merlin was offering. "It's a… sweet thought, but… I can't exactly hold it."

"I know," Merlin nodded. "But I have a feeling somebody will be willing to hold onto this for you. Which reminds me…"

He turned and waved a hand. The door closed, and a moment later, the Dream Keeper opened the door from the other side, stepping in.

"Geeze, this place is a maze…" he said as he stepped in. "It doesn't look this big on the outsi-oh, I'm sorry! You guys are talking, I'll just-"

"No, come in," Merlin said, motioning the Dream Keeper in. "I wanted to ask you a favor."

"Oh, of course!" the Dream Keeper nodded, closing the door behind him as he stepped further in. "What do you need?"

Merlin handed over the device. "If Tippi asks, let her use this. No questions asked."

The Dream Keeper blinked, taking the object in his hand. "Uh… okay?"

He shrugged and slid the device in his front pocket. Frankly, I was baffled at how readily he accepted this without so much as a single question.

"Anyway, do you mind if I take a minute to talk to Tippi?" the Dream Keeper asked.

"Not at all," Merlin said, walking to the door. "When you're done, just use the door to leave the front of my house. Your friends are waiting for you there."

"Wait, what?" the Dream Keeper asked. "But that door leads to some kind of massive maze."

"It's an enchantment I put on my house," Merlin said, his hand on the knob. "I can change what doors connect to which rooms at will. Observe."

He opened the door, revealing a library. He closed the door and opened it again, revealing a bathroom.

"That is SO cool!" the Dream Keeper said.

"I know," Merlin nodded as he closed the door again, opening it to reveal his personal study. "I'll leave you two be."

He walked through the door and closed it, leaving me alone with the Dream Keeper.

"Uh… Tippi-" the Dream Keeper started.

"Please," I interrupted. "I'd rather not talk."

"You don't have to," he shook his head. "Just listen. I'm… REALLY sorry for what I said back in the ruins. I didn't mean to upset you so badly."

"Oh… right, that," I said, remembering his constant stream of questions. It bothered me at the time, but frankly, I had more important things on my mind. "It's fine."

"You sure?" the Dream Keeper asked.

"Positive, now would you kindly open the door and let us regroup so we can reach the next Keyhole?" I asked.

"Right, of course," he nodded, opening the door to reveal Flipside on the other side. "I'm glad we got that out of the way!"

Saying nothing, I flew through the door outside, the Dream Keeper following behind.

* * *

_**Enter Pax:**_

* * *

It didn't take us long to meet up with everybody else. Goombella and Mario were standing just outside the store, talking with Peach and Karl.

"Hey, guys!" I waved as we approached. "We cleared the air, everything's cool now. Right Tippi?"

"Uh… right, what he said," Tippi said.

"So if everybody's ready, let's take off!" I said, summoning the Sword of Dreams.

"Uh… Pax?" Goombella spoke up. "Peach and Karl would like to say something."

"Hm?" I turned my head to Peach as she stepped forward, Karl directly behind her.

"We want to go with you," Peach said. "We want to help stop the Void."

I blinked. "Uh… but, you-"

"Just recovered, they feel fine," Goombella interrupted. She had apparently had this exact same argument.

"Besides," Peach continued, "the Void is my fault anyway. Mine and Bowser's… I want to help put a stop to what I started."

"Hey now, you were kind of brainwashed," I reminded her. "I don't think anybody would hold it against you."

"That doesn't excuse anything," Peach shook her head. "I'm going with you, and that's FINAL."

"I left the major argument to you, as the charismatic leader of our group," Goombella bowed to me.

"Thanks, you're a true friend," I said sarcastically before turning back to Peach. "Listen, I know your heart's in the right place, but… well, frankly, I think… at best, you'd just be a hindrance."

Peach raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms. "Oh?"

"I mean…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Tippi has the ability to discern information from anything she looks at. I have a magic sword and the ability to trade places with a Nightmare. Goombella's hyper-intelligent and can hold her own in a fight. Mario's… well, MARIO. I just don't see how well you'd be able to hold up in a tense fighting situation."

About five seconds later, I was sprawled out on the ground. Peach had a foot on my back and her parasol in front of my head.

"I can hold my own in basic hand-to-hand combat, thank you very much," Peach huffed. "Spend enough time getting kidnapped and learning how the enemy fights, you pick up a few of those fighting skills yourself."

"Okay… I believe you…" I groaned. "Please let me up."

"I see why you love her," Goombella said to Mario as Peach helped me back to my feet. He simply blushed and looked the other way, playing with his mustache.

"And…" Karl cleared his throat. "I want to go too… I promised someone I'd take care of Peach. S-so if you're not sure she can hold her own… not that I'm saying she can't! I think she really can! B-but just in case, I mean! Not that she'd need-"

"Stop," I held up a hand. "Breathe."

Karl took a few deep breaths. "…I want to come along, too."

"Well I don't see why not," I shrugged.

"So you'd let him come along without a second thought, but raise a question about me?" Peach countered.

"…there's no possible way I can answer that without getting hurt, is there?" I gulped.

"Good boy," Peach pat my head. "Now, don't we have some Worlds to save?"

"Okay, I am REALLY going to like you," Goombella smirked.

"Of course you will…" I sighed, standing up straight and holding out the sword. "Got the stuff?"

"Right here," Goombella nodded to Mario, who was holding a bag of items.

"Everyone ready?" I prepped the Sword of Dreams.

"Whenever you are," Peach nodded. I stepped forward and swung the sword down, focusing the energy of the Pure Heart though the blade. A hole ripped open in the air before us, and together, we all walked through into the next World.


End file.
